Saving Spira Again
by DaemonicKitten
Summary: PRNSxFFX2 crossover. This is my sequel to Of Rangers and Guardians. The Final battle is upon them. Can Blake, Tori and the Gullwings stop Zhane from destroying Spira? What about Karone, will they be reunited?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Storm or Final Fantasy X-2. I also don't own any of the songs used.

**Note** : This is the sequel to Of Rangers and Guardians. I don't think you'd have to read the first one to understand this. If you're not a fan of Final Fantasy, please turn back. If you simply don't know anything about it, check out youtube and look up videos of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. To help with my explanation of a few things in this fic, you can also look up Dresspheres, Shuyin and Lenne.

As with my previous fic, many characters will be replaced by Rangers and former Rangers.

**Summary** : Blake is struggling to live his life after Tori gets stuck in Spira, when one day, he finds out a portal has opened up. Without even thinking about it, he jumps through and almost immediately spots the former Summoner and the woman he loves. They are happily reunited, but why was she kept there, and why was he brought back? This is a tale of their second journey to save Spira, meeting new and old friends along the way.

Oh yeah...and I changed the story a bit from the preview, but basically, the same thing happens.

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

_Tori's Narration (can happen at any time and always in Tori's POV)_

_**Telepathic communication and any/all messages, and lyrics**_

**Dreams, visions and flashbacks.**

(Scene, POV, and time changes)

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(Two Years Later, London)

I'd just gotten back from a particularly grueling race, when my phone began to ring. Yawning, I looked at the clock that read 3 am, and wondered who the hell would be calling me at a time like this. Shrugging a bit, I answered the phone, thinking it was probably Roger wanting to make plans or something. I'd signed on for another year, though I really didn't need to.

"Hello?"

_"Blake?"_

I almost dropped the phone when I heard Cam's voice on the other end. It had been so long since we last spoke. The last time I saw any of them, was the day we beat Lothor once and for all, two weeks after I came back from Spira, two weeks after I was forced to be apart from the woman I loved, Tori. That was now two years ago, and I'd almost given up hope. There wasn't a day that I didn't wake up, hoping to find myself still in Spira with the woman I loved, but I was sorely disappointed every time.

It was hard to hold on.

And that's the reason I left. Well, the main reason. It hurt to look into Shane and Dustin's eyes and see their pain that Tori was still gone. As much as they were friends, that they didn't blame me, I also knew they were jealous of Hunter. His little bro had come back, but their little sis hadn't. Even Cam was hurt, though he didn't show it as much.

I mean, sure I kept in touch with them, but it had been so long since I heard any of their voices, and from the sounds of it, Cam had something really important to tell me.

"Yeah. What's up?" I asked, far more awake now.

There was a sigh on the other end. _"There's a strange energy reading coming from Zanarkand Ruins."_

Frowning, I thanked God it was a secure cell phone, and wondered why the hell he was talking about this so freely. Then, what he said hit me, and I felt my eyes widen. "Wait...you think it could be...?"

He cut me off. _"No. It's strange, but whatever it is, it's matching your morpher signature."_ In other words, it wasn't Tori.

I looked down to my useless morpher. When we had to fight Lothor the last time, he managed to absorb our powers into Cam's amulet and somehow, they all got drained. Now, no powers lay in his morpher, or anyone else's for that matter, except for Tori's probably, seeing as how she was in another world at the time and escaped his attack.

Remembering how the Fayth kept Tori in Spira, after everything we'd done to help them, I felt more than a little jaded, and let out an irritated sigh. "And exactly what do you want me to do about it?" I all but snapped.

_"Go check it out. My readings say it's a one-way portal. Whatever's happening, the portal leads out of this world."_ he answered easily, if not softly, as though he knew what he was asking.

And he's telling me because he knows about my feelings for Tori. With a curt nod, I realized this might've been the chance I was waiting for. "Alright. I'll check it out."

Without even waiting for an answer, I closed my phone and tossed it on my bed after deleting the memory and frying it with my thunder powers. If it was an outgoing portal, I was going to check it out, but if I went missing, I didn't want anyone to trace the call or the caller through my phone.

Sneaking out of the hotel, I Ninja Streaked to the half sunken city of Zanarkand and began looking around.

It didn't take long before I heard some strange music and rounded a corner to see the portal. It was a light blue, and swirled, but I could faintly make out what looked like Luca stadium on the other side.

Without thinking, I found myself jumping through the portal...

Coming out in a crowded stadium as a lift in the center rose, showing Tori, just as I remembered her, in her Summoner attire.

Frowning, I wondered, had any time at all passed here? She looked the same.

That's when the music started and her eyes opened. She began walking briskly forward, and twirled around, a light violet light surrounding her and her skirt shortening into a mini skirt, and her shirt changing, as two separate, ruffled sleeves clothed her arms, and a ruffle-trimmed shirt clothed her upper torso, baring her midriff, as well as a pair of tan colored knee high boots. Her whole body remained clad with the light violet light, and she danced forward, spinning around to walk back and reach her hand up, catching a microphone as it fell.

That's when the light faded away, revealing her to be in a two piece dress with a lace miniskirt over a pair of black short shorts and her ruffle-trimmed shirt turned out to be a royal blue with light blue trim, and one side hung to her knees. The sleeves were also a royal blue with black cord tied in several places to keep the sleeves fitting her arms snugly.

Her hair had changed too. No longer was it shoulder length, but it was cropped to just under her ears, flipped out on the ends, and she had a long braided tail of it, wrapped in red ribbon that hung to her ankles.

I felt my jaw drop as I took in her appearance.

Then she began to sing.

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I realize this chapter is short. This is my sequel to Of Rangers and Guardians. The other chapters will be longer. This was meant to be a preview, but...well, I just want to post what I have so far. :)

So please R+R and let me know what you think.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	2. Partial Reunion

**Disclaimer** : Just so you know,. I will likely NEVER own PRNS or FFX-2, so I won't likely put in disclaimers for every chapter. I don't own it now and never will, so...

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In another part of the stadium, two shadowed figured knocked out a guard. One, a young, asian woman with long black hair, dressed in black leather pants and a black halter, her hair up in a high ponytail, ran down the hallway, stopping at a doorway to give a quick wave to the second figure before she ran out.

The guard's body was dragged into the deepest shadows as the second figure stepped out. This one was a young man with curly black hair and deep chocolate brown eyes with a tanned complexion. He was wearing lose, yellow pants and a yellow muscle shirt as he raised one of his gloved hands to his mouth.

"T...D...C...In position." he whispered as he grinned. "It's show time."

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I had been watching as Tori took a step forward with her microphone. In two years, she had only grown more beautiful, her face a bit more defined and power practically radiating from her eyes.

As she began to sing, I felt my heart beat painfully as I realized...this was the first time I'd seen her since we were separated two years ago.

_**What can I do for you?**_

The backup music started and she raised her mic to her mouth, but didn't sing as she danced around.

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**I can hear you.**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

She looked out into the crowd as she raised the mic and sang out in an angelic voice, like I'd never heard before. I felt my jaw drop as I listened.

_**Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart.**_

_**I can see a place, that's something like this.**_

_**Every now and then I don't know what to do.**_

_**But still I know that I can never go back.**_

I wondered, if maybe, she was talking about the day we were forced apart.

Suddenly, I head something from up above me, and turned, finding another all too familiar face, doing something...unexpected.

_**But the things I've seen in those hazy dreams,**_

_**Can't compare to what I'm seeing now.**_

_**Everything's so different, **_

_**That it brings me to my knees**_

Dustin was standing at the upper railing, watching Tori's concert through binoculars. It made me raise an eyebrow, wondering why her own _cousin_ would need binoculars.

Then, a guard came up from behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, making him turn around. Dustin gave him a shy smile before lashing out and punching the guard, and kicking him in the stomach, knocking him out.

_**And though, I know, the world of real emotion has surrounded me**_

_**I won't give into it**_

_**Now, I know, that forward is the only way my heart can go.**_

_**I hear your voice calling out to me.**_

_**You'll never be alone.**_

As soon as the guard fell, he turned back to watch the show, but paused a moment when his eyes locked on mine. I noticed his eyes widen and offered him a raised eyebrow as I waved. It looked like he was going to say something, but before he could, the sound of fighting caught my attention from a little ways up from me.

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

Tori seemed oblivious to all this as she kept singing and dancing, two backup dancers behind her that I hadn't noticed earlier.

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**I can hear you.**_

_**And if I find the world of real emotion has surrounded me**_

_**And I can't go on**_

_**You are there the moment that I close my eyes to comfort me**_

_**We are connected for all of time**_

_**I'll never be...**_

Turning to look up the isle, I noticed a guard grab a young asian woman in black leather, but with a quick move, she jumped into a spin kick, kicking his baton out of his hand and then kicking him twice in the head, sending him flying as she landed in a crouch and glared at his unconscious body.

Getting up, she got a cool look in her eyes as she slid down the railing to land beside me and glared at me.

I just raised my hands, when I heard an engine near us and turned to find Dustin standing on one of the floating boards that had been used for the guitarists, and another one trailing behind him, empty.

"Blake!" he cried happily. He noticed the guard was knocked out and he grinned at the asian girl. "Yeah!" he cried as she got up on the empty board.

_**And though I know, the world of real emotion has surrounded me**_

_**I won't give in to it**_

_**Now, I know, that forward is the only way my heart can go**_

_**I hear your voice calling out to me**_

_**"You'll never be alone."**_

"Blake, come on!"

Turning my attention to Dustin, he offered me a hand which I took, and pulled me up on the board with him. He looked at me a moment, seeming to realize I was weaponless, and handed me a weird sphere. He pressed the small button on the top once it was in my hands, and the next thing I know, I'm wearing black leather pants with a navy blue, skin tight t-shirt and holding a sword with a bright blue blade, made out of the same material, as the thunder blade that was bought for me on my last trip to Spira.

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**I can hear you.**_

"Right!" Dustin cried as he flew the hover board, or whatever, over to the stage, where we all jumped off and stood in front of Tori.

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**What can I do for you?**_

_**I can hear you**_

_**I can hear you**_

As soon as the music died down, Tori sneered and looked at us with eyes that looked cold.

Dustin took a step forward and grabbed his twin daggers from his sides as he glared at her, and I felt myself frown. "Hey! Give it back already!" he called angrily.

I wondered what the hell was going on. One minute I'm seeing the woman I love, who I haven't seen for two years, singing and dancing, and the next, I'm with Dustin and some leather clad chick, about to attack her?

"What the hell, Dustin?!" I cried.

He turned to me and shook his head. "Just trust me on this." he whispered. "That's not Tor."

I raised an eyebrow and looked back at the blonde who was swaying to faint music in front of us, a smirk on her face as she called the two back up dancers that turned into men wearing green spandex and holding short swords. "Looks like her to me...though, maybe a little more evil." I muttered quietly, taking Dustin's word for it.

"Boys!" she called, and I felt my eyes widen.

That was _so_ not Tori's voice!

"Want in on this number? Then show me your moves!" she yelled as she held the microphone in one hand, swaying to the music still.

The asian girl smirked and held her long black blade as she carefully watched the henchmen on either side of Tori's impersonator. "Think you can keep up?" she asked in a cold, confident voice.

"Awww, man. This is way narly." I muttered to myself as I grabbed my blade.

Dustin went straight for the woman, as I decided to call her, since it was way too easy to imagine this being Tor, and sliced her with his daggers, as the unnamed asian girl attacked one of the henchmen. With a shrug, I turned to the other henchman and attacked him, hitting him hard with my gleaming blue blade.

I think I was a little disappointed when they collapsed right away, leaving Tori alone. I could only stand by and watch as Dustin and his new friend went after her. She might not have been my Tori, but it was way too disconcerting to attack her myself.

After a few hits, the woman collapsed and groaned, before staggering to her feet and wincing as she glared at us.

"I could've danced all night." the asian woman said with a smirk.

The Tori impersonator sneered at us again and raised her hand in front of her. "Sorry!" she called out, speaking to the people in the stadium. "No time for an encore!" Tossing down a smoke bomb, she fled, leaving us coughing in her wake.

I felt someone grab my arm and pull me with them, and went willingly as I blinked and tried to clear the tears out of my eyes. Sheathing the blade, I followed them out of the stadium and towards the docks, noticing it was Dustin and the asian woman I was being dragged after.

As we made it to the first dock, Dustin stopped and groaned. Turning to me, he offered a quick smile and looked at the woman. "Cassie, this is Blake. Blake, Cassie." he said quickly before turning around and running back down the docks. "Get back here!" he called after the retreating form.

Cassie looked at me a moment before sighing and running after Dustin, and with another shrug, I decided to follow them. We had to battle more of those weird guys in tights, and some women in really tight pink tights that casted magic at us. They didn't last long though.

As we made it to the number 3 dock, Dustin veered off course and ran over to a shaking, huddling person in a weird, though in a strange way, kind of cute, costume of a white thing that looked a little like a stuffed bear, except for the pompom on the top of it's head. It looked up at Dustin and immediately raised its hand and we all felt better, restored.

Running back down the docks, we finally made it to the number 4 dock where Dustin ran a little farther ahead and let out a loud groan as he looked around. "Hey, you run too fast!" he shouted into the empty air as Cassie and I bent over to catch out breath.

"You're too slow, little boy." said a voice from behind us.

Turning back the way we'd come, I noticed a skinny man with a spiked collar come walking up, holding two guns. He was dressed in blue robes and sneered at us as he approached.

"Not them again." Cassie muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Dustin spun around and his green eyes widened. "Yeowch!" he groaned as he raced forward to pull me down the dock. "That's Skull. Wherever he is, you'll find Bulk not too far behind." he whispered as we turned around.

A bulky man came from the other direction and walked up to Skull. He sneered as well as they came in closer. He was also dressed like his counterpart. "Show's over!" he yelled before he began to laugh.

With a raised eyebrow, I figured this must've been Bulk and that his name really seemed to suit him.

All of a sudden, the sound of gunshots was heard and the men jumped around as bullets riddled the ground at their feet. When they stopped, they spun around...

...To see Tori!

I felt my eyes widen and blinked in shock as I took in the Tori I was looking at. Gone were the conservative Summoner's robes she used to wear, and in their place was a sleeveless shirt that was open in the front, the sides held together by an intricate T, showing off way more cleavage than I'd ever seen and just covering the essentials, and it came to just above her belly button. It also had a pink hood on the back, and she wore yellow arm bands and black leather bracers on her wrists. Under that, she wore a really short pair of almost black jean shorts with a light blue, ruffled half skirt over them, and a yellow belt with a pouch on it, and lastly, a pair of knee high black boots finished off the package.

Other than that, she looked identical to the Tori we'd been chasing.

I was a little torn between drooling or throwing her over my shoulder and running off, yelling at her about the choice of clothing.

I blinked again as I noticed she hadn't seemed to have seen me. Glaring at the men, she raced forward, twin pistols in her hands, and jumped up, jumping on Bulk's head and flying up in the air, to flip around and begin firing on them as she fell.

Flipping twice, she landed and held he guns out in front of her with her wrists crossed, the guns held butt to butt as she kneeled on one knee.

Dustin seemed to take the hint and spun his daggers in his hand as he walked over, standing behind the kneeling Tori, and crossing his arms with his daggers pointing out.

Cassie walked over and brought her sword up in an arc as she held it over her head, glaring at the men as she stood back to back with Dustin, behind Tori.

For a quick moment, I got a weird flash of Charlie's Angels, with the way they were dressed and posing, except one was a guy.

I shrugged and stayed in place behind them. The men ran forward and I watched as they fought them, only running in to block a blow from behind Tori. She spun around to see what happened and her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she looked at me.

"Hey, Tor." I said quietly, offering her a small smile.

She gasped a bit, and I had to quickly pull her aside as Bulk threw a large round shield at us, only to have it boomerang around and hit him in the head.

I laughed as I grabbed my sword and took a step back. "It's good to see you too Tor, but think we can save it till we're safe?"

She seemed to understand what I was saying and blushed as she turned around. She grabbed her guns and seemed to glow for a moment before she unleashed a volley of shots that I couldn't keep up with.

Shaking my head, I turned and sliced at Bulk along with Cassie who gave me a mild glare. When I backed up, she shook her head, and I turned to Skull, deciding to let psycho witch go after him all alone while I helped the others.

Soon enough, they fell to their knees whining about their loss, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's quite enough sniveling, boys!" came that annoying voice from the concert.

We all turned to see the Tori impersonator come waltzing out, sneering at our Tori as she put a hand on her hip and stood between the fallen men. "Persistent, aren't you?" she asked with a shake of her head.

Tori growled and stepped in front of all of us. "My Grid!" she called as he held out her hand.

Dustin nodded and stood beside Tori. "You give us back Tori's Garment Grid, right now!" he shouted.

"Didn't you ever learn to share?" the fake Tori said haughtily.

My Tor glared angrily at her and took a menacing step forward. "Give. It. Back!" she said through clenched teeth.

With a shrug, the fake Tori sighed. "Very well, it's yours." she said as she tossed the weird bracelet-like thing.

Luckily Tori was able to catch it, and Dustin sighed in relief as Tori cradled it to her chest.

The fake Tori brought out a fan from behind her and swept it up in front of her face as she disappeared in a violet mist, coming back as a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing an all too revealing pink dress and a giant pink heart tattooed on her chest.

I almost wanted to laugh at her when I saw the outfit, but managed to keep it under control. She looked like a wacked out barbie doll brought to life! I think, I was almost waiting for her to start calling for her 'Ken'.

Sweeping the fan from her face, the woman glared. "But it won't be yours for long, loves!" she called.

Tori growled and hit a button on the bracelet, causing it to glow. A moment later, and she was covered in a pale violet light as she spun slowly on the spot. The outfit she wore, was slowly replaced by the same blue dress the fake Tori had been wearing on stage, and with a jump, she caught the microphone that fell out of mid air.

"Hey! Eyes on me!" she called as she began to dance.

I heard the blonde woman make a noise of protest before walking around blindly, and Dustin hit her with his daggers. When he jumped back, she swung blindly for him, but missed by a mile.

I was beginning to get a familiar feeling that I didn't really care for, and shook my head sadly. It seemed, a lot had changed on Spira since I was last here, and I once again felt totally lost. I didn't understand why Tori was dancing, who Cassie was, how they changed outfits so quickly in battle, who these new people were, nothing.

I stood back and watched as Dustin and Cassie took care of the blonde, and Tori danced away.

As the woman collapsed, Tori let out a sigh and stopped moving, panting a little as we all stared at the three people across from us.

Walking up beside Tori, I leaned over and whispered in her ear as I raised an eyebrow at the weird blonde. "Who's the weirdo?"

Looking at me and blinking with wide eyes, a huge smile split Tori's face. "Cassidy and her goons Bulk and Skull." she answered quietly.

Cassidy stumbled to her feet and grimaced as she backed away, her lackeys by her side. "Uhh. Uhhh... I don't let you off so easily next time!" she called shakily as they ran away.

I turned to Tori, smiling. She looked back and began to laugh, jumping a bit.

"Get back here!"

Turning my head, I noticed Dustin at the other end of the dock, shouting after Cassidy.

Cassie turned back to Tori and me and raised an eyebrow, turning her head a bit to catch Dustin's attention. "Dustin." she called quietly as a smirk crossed her face.

Blinking a bit in confusion, I turned back around, and grinned, seeing Tori dancing around. She was jumping and spinning, but my smile frioze when I noticed the confused expression on her face. "Uhh...Tor?" She looked at me and blinked for a moment before she began to giggle a bit, though I could tell she was a little concerned.

I just shook my head with a smile. It had been so long, but besides her appearance, Tori hadn't seemed to have changed at all.

_My body just started dancing by itself. I didn't know what was going on. I was...frightened. Then, strangely, I began to feel like someone else was there, inside me. I couldn't explain it._

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Whelp, there's chapter 2. I hope you like this so far. For those of you who read my other fic and are wondering where Hunter and Shane are, they will be introduced soon enough, though they won't be much a part of this fic. They are minor characters this time. Cam won't be introduced at all, but for the earth Cam, seeing as how the Spiran Cam is resting on the Farplane.

Also, there will be many mentions of characters from my previous fic, as well as new characters that arise in this one.

Well, I hope you like it so far. :)

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	3. Introductions

**Disclaimer** : Meh...I don't own them and never will. Happy?

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(Back on the Celcius, Tori's POV)

We all walked up to the bridge. It took me about an hour to let go of Blake, once I realized he was real, and since then, I haven't let go of his hand. It felt so good to have him by my side, and I promised myself that I'd never let him leave again...not without me.

Blake had filled me in, telling me about how the others defeated Lothor and have moved on. I felt left out. Dustin and Shane were Senseis at the school, and Hunter was head Sensei at the Thunder Academy. Cam was right behind Sensei Watanabi for the position of head Sensei, and Blake...he'd left. It shocked me, but when he explained that he couldn't stay there, because it reminded him of being without me, I understood.

It was partly, the same reason I didn't stay in Besaid anymore.

Over the last two years, I'd become more knowledgeable about Spira, and about Spiran Tori. I knew all of her memories, her past and thoughts and feelings. I think, she was a big part of the reason I was able to keep living.

Still, I felt dead inside without Blake there. But...it didn't matter anymore, because he was back.

Dustin was bouncing around happily as we entered the bridge, revealing more or less the rest of our group. "You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself." he teased with a grin as he walked backwards.

We descended a small ramp to the main floor of the bridge, and I knew Blake was busy taking in the whole new airship we were on. Yeah, we had a whole new airship to ourselves, called the Celsius. "I was." I stated with a giggle. I felt so excited and happy to have Blake back, and I'm sure it made me seem pretty hyper. "It felt like some other person's excitement just took over!"

A boy, with dark skin and black hair and eyes, looking to be about 15 turned around in his seat and nodded. "That _can_ happen when you use the Garment Grid. The emotions of the person recorded in the spheres pass to the user."

Dustin looked at him with a tilt of his head. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"I can't really say." he boy answered as he turned back around.

I knew Blake was paying attention, but from the look on his face, he was totally lost. I guess it was probably up to me to explain later.

Another guy, looking to be about 19, spoke up from a seat at the head of the bridge. He had curly black hair that was a bit longer than Dustin's and black eyes, with a pale complexion. "But it's your invention!"

The boy shrugged. "I'm just a kid."

I couldn't help but giggle at that. That was one of his favorite sayings, and luckily for him, he _just_ fit into that category too.

Brother leapt up from his seat and ran over. Clearing his throat, he grinned at me, making me take a step back. "Dancing Tori! I want to see!" he cried in broken Spiran as he raised his hand to the air.

It was kind of sick really. He was Dustin's brother, thus my cousin as well, but he obviously had a major crush on me. Taking Blake's hand, I held it tightly, keeping him close to me, as I smiled. "It'll cost you." I said sweetly.

I heard Blake growl quietly from my side and noticed him glaring at the Al Bhed man who'd begun to pat down his pockets, looking for money. "One moment..." Brother said, clearly distracted.

We joked like this often, as was made clear by everyone else's reaction when he said that. Cassie, Dustin, the boy at the console and the man at the front station all spoke at the same time. "She's kidding!" they yelled, making him stop looking and pout.

"What? No dance?" he asked innocently, just as a bunch of alarms went off.

He raced back to his station as Blake grabbed me and held me close, grabbing his sword and looking around wildly.

Shaking my head, I pulled away, patting my holstered guns and raising an eyebrow at him. He had the sense to blush and put his sword away as we walked down to where Dustin and Cassie had stood.

"Ehlusehk tydy! Gullwings, du ouin cdydeuhc! (Incoming data! Gullwings, to your stations!)" Brother called as everyone walked around normally.

Dustin went over to the third seat in the front and hopped in, looking totally at home, and Cassie went back to the main floor, standing there with a bored look on her face.

I took Blake's hand and led him around the bridge, introducing him to the different people and what they did. First stop was Brother.

"Tori...Has my talking...gotten better?" he asked in broken Spiran.

_He really has improved quite a bit. He told me he practiced, just so he could talk to me more._

Blake looked a little jealous but a chaste kiss later, and he seemed to relax. It was obvious that he recognized Brother and Dustin, but like me the first time I came up into this airship, he was totally lost about the others. I had a lot of fun, explaining as much about everything as I could.

Our next stop was Cassie. Despite the fact that she looks like she could be really sweet and innocent, most of the time, she was really cold, which kind of confused me. Then again, with as little as I knew about her, I really shouldn't have been surprised.

"What now?" she put in, in a bored and slightly irritated voice as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nothing!" I insisted with a sunny smile, hoping she'd just forget we were here.

Introducing them, I moved Blake a little ways off and told him what I knew about her. "That's Cassie. I look up to her as a sphere hunter...and also as a friend." Giggling, I shook my head. "I still don't know much about her. She's not exactly the talkative type. I heard, she joined the Gullwings just before I did...Dustin doesn't know much about her either."

He looked a little confused, and I explained more to him.

I explained that about a month ago, Dustin had found me in Besaid, still playing the part of the infamous High Summoner who brought the Eternal Calm. He showed me a sphere, saying that the man inside looked like my long lost best friend, Zach.

But again, not _my_ best friend, since I wasn't from this planet.

I didn't understand much, but I think Spira's version of me loved him. Every time I watched one of her memories, I felt the familiar butterflies in my stomach, as when I'd think of Blake. It was a little disconcerting, the fact that _I_ love Blake, and the other me loved a totally different guy.

Still, I felt compelled to leave and join them, riding around Spira looking for more signs of Zach. And then, there were times I found myself wondering if maybe, the guy in the sphere, didn't just _look_ like him.

Walking over to the seat Dustin had taken, he looked up at us and grinned. "Glad to see you back, Blake." he said to Blake with a warm smile. Turning to me, his smile turned to a grin. "Having fun yet?" he asked in a teasing voice.

I nodded quickly. "Hell yeah!" I put in with a grin.

_It all began when I saw this sphere of Zach. At least, it looked like him. I couldn't say for sure._

Looking to Blake I sighed and gave him a sheepish smile. "About a month ago, Dustin came up to me with a sphere, showing something I..." I hesitated and looked around, making sure no one else could hear us. "Spira's Tori was shocked to see. It was a sphere of her long lost best friend, Zach. He went missing about 3 months before we first came to Spira." Sighing again, she closed her eyes. "So now we're looking for more spheres like it, hoping to find out where he is."

"So you joined your...friends...here?" he asked awkwardly.

I nodded, realizing I still had yet to explain who we were. "Yeah, I joined the Gullwings. We're a well known group of sphere hunters." I explained the best I could. I knew he wouldn't understand the sphere hunter part, until he went on a mission or two himself.

_We travel _all_ over Spira. It's really a lot of fun._

"I'm Glad." Dustin stated, referring to the fact that I'd admitted that I was having fun. "For a while there, I was starting to feel like a kidnapper." he said with a crooked grin.

"As if!" I shot back with a smile.

Sadly though, he was partially right. Back when we first began this journey, I didn't want to go. I still felt my loss of Blake as bad as if it had just happened, and was sulking around. But...since I began this journey, I filled with energy again, and look! Blake came back!

With a shake of my head, I took Blake's hand and led him over to the boy who'd spoke out about the Garment Grid before. Smiling at Blake warmly, I squeezed his hand a bit.

"I know everything." the boy put in with a grin as he typed away on the screen.

Turning to Blake, I tilted my head and giggled. "This is Ethan. He's an Al Bhed whiz kid." I told him, pulling away to make air quotes. Actually, Ethan was one of a kind. He didn't have the normal eyes, hair and skin of the Al Bhed, but that's what he was. If you looked into his eyes hard enough, you'd see the spiraled pupils. Blake chuckled a little as I led him over to the last man on the bridge.

"Still analyzing." he said without even looking up from the monitor.

Brother groaned and I turned to look at him. "Duu cmuf! (Too slow!)" he cried.

I was really glad that in the two years here, I'd at least learned to speak and understand Al Bhed. The lost and irritated look on Blake's face reminded me that he didn't, though, and I almost smirked to myself when I thought about the tons of fun hours we could spend on that.

"Crid ib! (Shut up!)" the man snapped back.

Turning to Blake, I giggled. "That's Adam. He and Brother are old friends." I introduced as Adam turned and nodded his head at Blake, who returned the gesture.

_Adam told me he was on the ship with us two years ago. When I told him I didn't remember, he seemed disappointed._

Heading out of the bridge, I led Blake to the elevator that took us down to the cabin section of the airship. As the elevator descended, we spoke about everything that happened. I explained about learning Al Bhed. I explained about sphere hunting the best I could, glad that Dustin had given him a Warrior Dressphere already. I also explained that to him.

Once we made it to the cabin, I still hadn't explained much of anything, but figured the rest could wait for now. Heading down the short hallway, we entered the cabin, and I felt Blake stop cold when he saw the ting behind the bar.

It was blue, stood about 5'5", was skinny and had frog-like eyes on the top of it's head.

"Mish Toori, what can I do for yoo?" he said with a light voice and accent.

I giggled and held up one finger to tell him to wait a moment. Turning to Blake, I saw him gaping at my friend and laughed, closing his jaw with my finger. "Our Barkeep's a Hypello. No one knows his real name, so we all just call him 'Barkeep'. Brother took him in, and now we works aboard the airship."

Blake blinked and nodded, a small glimmer of recognition shining in his eyes, and I knew he must've been remembering back to when I explained to him about the races, just out side of Luca, two years ago.

I told the barkeep that we wanted to rest and he nodded. I led Blake up the stairs and pointed to one of the many beds there. I knew he had more questions, but for the moment, I figured we could both benefit from a rest, and that's just what we did.

About 2 hours later, I woke up and proceeded over to the bed Blake was out cold on. He looked so adorable as he slept and I brushed my hand gently against his cheek before I even realized what I was doing.

Shaking his head a bit, he turned over and rolled onto his side, facing me as he curled up a little under the blankets. Giggling softly, I looked around, breathing a sigh of relief when I didn't see anyone else around. With a devilish smirk, I leaned forward and brushed my lips against Blake, resulting in a breathy sigh.

Pulling back, I put my hand over my mouth and tried to silence my laughing. Once I'd succeeded, I leaned forward again, kissing him deeper and getting a slight moan as he shifted. I felt him start to kiss me back and pulled away slightly, seeing his half open eyes and happy smile.

"Morning Sleepyhead." I said quietly with a giggle. "Time to get up."

He nodded and slowly sat up. "Morning beautiful." he shot back ((A/N: I know that's Tommy's name for Kim...sue me...actually, don't. You won't end up with anything.))

Together we went downstairs to where Barkeep waved at us, when suddenly, the alarm went off again, and Brother's voice called out over the intercom, making Blake wince from the loudness.

"Cbrana fyja yhymocec lusbmada! (Sphere wave analysis complete!)" he called in Al Bhed, before his tone turned fully commanding, making me want to throw him off the airship...again. "Gullwings! To your stations!"

For some strange reason, even though it was Dustin who founded this group, and I was the legendary High Summoner who beat Sin, Brother had seemed to have gotten it in his head that he was the leader. He often bullied people around, and one time, I even had to chase Cassie up onto the outside upper deck to talk her out of throwing Brother off the airship while it was in mid-air...only to end up wanting to throw him off it myself.

Heading to the bridge, I wasn't surprised to find everyone else up and alert, standing around Brother's pilot console and waiting for the news. I took Blake's hand and led him over, clearing my throat to let them all know we were here.

I saw Brother narrow his eyes when he saw that my hand was linked with Blake's and narrowed my own eyes at him, glaring openly and mouthing 'back off'. He simply shook his head and looked away, his shoulders slumping a bit.

Adam looked at us and grinned. "Treasure sphere waves!" he called triumphantly.

That meant, it was likely a movie sphere with the possibility of becoming a dress sphere.

That's where we got our dresspheres. They were movie sphere's we'd found at some point or another, and they sometimes could double up as dress spheres.

So far, us Gullwings had Gunner, Thief, Warrior, Black Mage and Songstress.

I didn't understand much about it myself, but apparently, one sphere worked for our entire group. I think it was because of the Garment Grids and how they seemed to be connected.

To me, it sounded like a bunch of psycho-babble that only Cam would understand.

Anyways, the Songstress was what I'd changed into, when we fought Cassidy, and was what she used up on stage while she was pretending to be me. The one I used as my standard dressphere was the Gunner, which I was wearing when I interrupted Bulk, Skull and my friends from fighting. It was also the one I wore all the time, unless I changed into one of my other ones for some reason.

Warrior was what Blake had...and let me tell you, I sure as hell liked what I was seeing! And it was what Cassie used as her standard dressphere, that she wore more often than not.

And thief...that's what Dustin wore all the time, hence the daggers.

I had to remind myself to speak to Ethan about getting a Garment Grid for Blake. If he looked this good as a warrior, I wanted to see how the other outfits turned out. Plus, it was always good to have a variety of battle skills.

"They're coming from those ruins they found at Gagazet." Adam finished as he checked out his panel.

I nodded, obviously distracted as I looked at Blake. I was so happy to have him back, and two years hadn't seemed to have changed him...much, but...why was he brought back now?

"All right!" Dustin cheered as he jumped up and pumped a fist into the air. I couldn't hold back and bounced over to him, jumping and following his lead as I giggled and he laughed.

Cassie rolled her eyes, but gave a brief, warm smile and shook her head, and Blake laughed at us.

Brother didn't even turn around, but took that commanding tone again. "Haqd cdub, Gagazet! (Next stop, Gagazet!)" he cried as the airship flew off. As we approached the mountain, I stared into space, remembering our journey through here, and everything that had happened.

_Sacred Mt. Gagazet. Silent guardian of Zanarkand, city of the dead. When they Fayth disappeared, the clouds enshrouding the mountain began to thin and disperse...revealing long-forgotten ruins at it's peak._

"Hey! The rocks are floating!" I cried as I looked at the beautiful sight. It reminded me a bit of Djose temple, the way the rocks floated around the main temple, only in this case, the rocks were floating around the ruins.

Dustin's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw the massive ruins. "Don't tell me we gotta climb up that thing!" he whined as he slumped his shoulders and shook his head.

Adam laughed and shook his head. "No worries. I'll take you to the top." he said as he continued to chuckle.

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Don't really know what to say.

Hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	4. First Mission

**Disclaimer** : Don't own them.

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(Gagazet Ruins, Normal POV)

As the group landed on a very narrow path at the middle of the ruins, everyone looked around. Dustin had landed behind Tori at the edge of the path, while Tori landed a few feet in front of him, Blake landing a few feet in front of her, and about five feet at the front of the group, Cassie landed.

Tori had turned and did the one thing no one on a really high ruin was supposed to do.

She looked down.

Suddenly getting dizzy, she put a hand to her head and staggered back a foot. Just as her back foot slipped off the edge, Blake turned and reached out at the speed of light, grabbing her hand.

Unfortunately, she was already falling, and the weight pulled him onto his stomach with such force, he winced as he held her hand tightly. "Tor! Hang on!" he cried.

Cassie and Dustin both turned to look and their eyes widened. "TORI!" they called out together as they raced over. Dustin took hold of her wrist which was in Blake's grasp and Cassie took the empty hand, and the trio began trying to pull her up, struggling to get a good hold on the narrow passageway so they didn't end up falling themselves.

Suddenly, there was the sound of static and Cassie groaned as Brother's annoying voice called through their coms. "Status report!" he commanded.

Grunting in effort to pull Tori up, Dustin rolled his eyes. "Disasterrific!" he called.

Brother made a noise on the other end of the com. " 'Disasterrific' is not a word. Say 'disastrous' like the rest of Spira." he scolded.

"I'm not listening...!" Dustin cried as he used his other hand to tighten his grip on Tori.

Blake wasn't listening to any of them as he held on tightly, keeping his steady eyes trained on Tori's terrified ones. He caught bits and pieces of the argument and wanted to strangle their so called leader, but at the moment, that would involve releasing his grip on Tori, one thing he _wasn't_ about to do!

"Dustin! Come in!" Brother screamed, making everyone wince.

Cassie growled under her breath as she struggled to pull up Tori. "Want me to hurt him?" she asked in a deadly calm, if slightly strained voice.

Nodding, Dustin winced. "That'd be great!" he called back, his own voice straining with the effort.

"COME IN!" Brother screamed again.

"Brother, shut the _hell_ up!" Blake yelled angrily as he held on for dear life.

Cassie nudged his arm and they exchanged looks. Nodding to her, he nudged Dustin's arm, and with a silent agreement, the stopped pulling as they took a second to rest. "Heave! Ho!" he called together as they pulled sharply, bringing Tori back up onto the ledge.

Blake fell slightly to the side as Tori came up, leaving her to fall in his lap, where she wrapped her arms around his waist. He wrapped his own arms around her and held her tightly, feverously kissing the top of her head as he mentally thanked whatever deity had allowed them to save her life.

Eventually pulling away, the group slowly stood up as Blake took hold of one of her hands and refused to let her go.

Blushing as his protectiveness, she smiled to herself as she faced them. "Thanks." she said with a shaky voice. "That was...a little close."

Cassie raised an eyebrow and gave her a slightly incredulous look. "A little?" she repeated in her almost emotionless voice.

"COME IN!" Brother screamed.

Blake closed his eyes and counted to ten, fighting not to get back on board that airship and strangle their leader senseless.

Seeing his look, Tori giggled silently to herself before activating her com. "We're here. Everything's ok now." she said cheerily, obviously so he'd shut up and stop bothering them.

There was a sigh on the other end before Brother's much calmer voice came through. "Tori, keep an eye on Dustin!"

Dustin pouted and glared at the sky, shaking his body as his fists balled up and his shoulders slumped.

Tori caught this as well and giggled out loud. "Will do." she said as she turned off the com.

The group continued on, heading along the super narrow passageways, and Blake never once let go of her hand. Soon, they made it to a stair case that was collapsed half way up and Dustin sighed from the bottom of it, putting his hand on his chin in thought.

"We're not getting up this way." he muttered quietly.

"Then let's find another way." Cassie stated in a voice that clearly stated 'duh'.

Changing course, they turned and walked along thicker paths to a large elevator that looked ancient. They all moved so they were standing on the large platform and looked around. Tori walked over to the far wall, checking out what looked like an ancient machina with her hands behind her back.

"A dead end." Cassie stated in her monotone voice.

Dustin sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just great." he whined.

Pursing her lips, Tori took another step closer to the machina and looked at the others. "Think this machina still works?" she mused out loud.

The others turned to look at her curiously as she pressed the glowing button and stepped back. Blake walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he watched the half sphere warily. The elevator shook briefly as everyone looked around wildly, making Blake tighten his hold on her waist, and began a somewhat shaky descent down.

Wrapping her arms over his, Tori leaned into his embrace and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and relaxed a little. "I wonder how safe this is." she murmured as she opened her eyes.

Suddenly the elevator stopped and shook violently. A moment later and it plunged at brake neck speed towards the bottom as the group screamed in panic, and Blake toppled over with Tori on top of him. As it hit the ground, everyone let out sighs of relief to still be alive, and slowly stood up, wincing in pain and groaning a bit.

"It stopped..." Tori said in a clearly relieved voice.

Dustin pouted as he slowly stood up and shook his head as he stumbled, rubbing his backside, which he'd painfully landed on. "Owie!" he groaned.

Brother's voice snapped out over the com link, starting everyone with the urgency in it. "What happened? Is Tori ok?" he cried.

Blake narrowed his eyes and glared into space, not liking the tone he was hearing. Seeing that, Tori wabbled over to him and kissed him lightly as she gave him a sweet smile.

As she pulled away, she activated her cam and rubbed her lower back, sighing. "Things are..." she hissed in pain. "Ow...disasterrific." she mumbled.

"Disasterrific?! I am on my way!" he cried. The line went dead and Tori felt relief she didn't have to listen to him anymore.

Dustin walked to the edge of the elevator and looked towards the sky as he shook his head. "What about me?" he asked in a small, whining voice.

Chuckling quietly, Blake walked along side Tori as the continued on. They climbed up a small cliff, Blake staying right below Tori in case she fell, and ended up on a large path that intersected another one. They began to cross the path when grunting and hissing was heard, and they spun around.

"Who's there?" Blake called warily as he armed himself.

Cassidy appeared and wobbled towards them with a smirk. "Err, Cassidy. Remember that name well, loves." she said with a dramatic pose.

He raised an eyebrow as Cassie crossed her arms and sneered, and Dustin shook his head. Tori got an enlightened look and sighed heavily as she looked at their adversary. "Ahh. The thief." she said with a nod.

Looking confused and offended, Cassidy's eyes widened. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked in a mock innocent voice. Sighing dramatically, she shook her head. "That's what I hate about amateurs..." she started.

Dustin groaned silently and turned to Tori. "Maybe she'll go away if we ignore her." he whispered.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quiet enough, if the way Cassidy straightened up and glared at him was any indication.

"You! I heard that!" she called. Lightening her look, she took on an indifferent tone. "Just as I was saying. Amateurs! They have no concept of what it takes to be sphere hunters." she commented seemingly to herself.

"Amateurs?" Cassie shot back with a raised eyebrow. "Weren't _you_ just following _us_?"

"Following? A mere coincidence!" Cassidy shot back.

Bulk and Skull suddenly ambled in, grinning at the group as they stood by their 'boss'.

Bulk laughed and shook his head. "You was right, boss, as always."

"Indeed. Following them has paid off splendidly." Skull put in with the same grin.

Cassidy had the sense to blush and look flabbergasted.

Tori's group just laughed, as Blake stared at them disbelievingly before he too began laughing.

Growling slightly, Cassidy turned and swatted her goons with her fan as she turned back to the others. "Laugh while you can!" she called as the trio ran forward and began their attack.

Quickly grabbing his sword, Blake rushed forward and blocked Cassidy's attack as Cassie and Dustin took on Bulk and Tori was left to take on Skull. Swiping his sword violently at the blonde woman, she laughed and jumped back, avoiding his attack.

Strangely, his ninja senses tingled as he felt a build up of power behind him. Turning for a split second, he noticed Tori changing into what she called the 'Songstress' dressphere, and turned back to continue his part of the battle as she got ready to distract the enemies.

"This is a little embarrassing." she said with a slight giggle as she began to dance, and the battle suddenly became a lot easier.

Blake backed up to stand in front of Tori as she danced, acting as her shield since she could no longer fight Skull. He blocked the blows that came near to her, quickly counter attacking and bringing the slender henchman to his knees. That left Bulk and Cassidy.

Speaking of Bulk, not long after Skull fell, he did as well, and the remaining fighters of the group turned to Cassidy who was swinging her fan around sharply as she struggled to find a target.

Dustin raced forward, his hand shooting out and grabbing something, and Blake remembered that motion from the journey two years ago. He'd just stolen from her.

Cassie smirked and swung her blade at their foe, knocking her fan out of her hand.

Behind Blake, he heard a groan and turned to find Tori stopping her dance as she panted, and realized she needed a break. Turning back to Cassidy, he jumped back as she swung her fan at him, and escaped with only a slight scratch to his upper arm. Swinging his own sword in retaliation, he caught her across the midsection, knocker her back and she groaned, remaining on her knees.

As the trio slowly made their way to their feet, they openly glared at Tori's group.

"Hmph! And this is the thanks I get for going easy on you!" Cassidy shot with a shake of her head, a disdainful air about her.

She pulled something from a pouch around her neck and tossed it to the ground, causing a cloud of foul smelling smoke to rise up and cover everyone, causing the group to cough and choke.

"Hey!" Tori cried as she coughed.

Dustin gasped for hair. "Who does she think she is?" he put in angrily.

Cassie groaned. "She's getting hurt." she muttered as she coughed.

_No shit._ Blake thought as he blinked and tried to clear up his tear-filled eyes. All these damn smoke bombs were really beginning to get to him.

As the smoke cleared up, they noticed their foes were gone, and spun towards the ruins as they made out traces of pink running along the path father ahead. Tori stomped her foot as she glared at them and raised her hand, pointing to the path they had to take.

"After them!" she called as she took off. "Before they get the sphere!" she finished over her shoulder.

Not wanting to let her get too far away, Blake chased after her and managed to catch up, slowing down to match her pace. _Man! I'll never rag on Sensei's runs again!_ he thought dryly as they raced up the pathway. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he noticed Dustin and Cassie behind them with smirks on their faces and felt his face heat up.

They entered the ruins and ran down the long, almost endless passageways, ignoring the occasional treasure chest they'd see off down another short path, and only briefly noting the dim orange glow of the lit torches in the damp underground.

Making it to the other side, they ran around a curving path, only to stop short as Skull appeared in front of them, blocking their path with an evil grin. "You look a tad flushed." he said in a mock innocent voice. His smirk only grew as two green clad men and giant machina snakes appeared behind him. "Why not stop to catch your breath?" he put in as he backed up. Moving along the path to enter the ruins, he laughed as the snakes and men charged forward.

"Not again!" groaned Tori as she pulled out her guns.

Dustin frowned and shook his head as he grabbed his daggers. "I hate snakes!" he muttered with a shiver.

Cassie remained silent as she grabbed her sword and swung it in an arc over her head.

Grabbing his sword, Blake closed his eyes for a brief moment and groaned silently, already remembering that these random battles were one thing he really didn't like about this world.

As Tori glowed and shot a fast volley of shots at the snakes, Dustin ran forward and swiped a potion from one of the green clad men. Cassie followed him by slicing the man with her sword, bringing him to his knees in seconds.

Blake focused on the large snakes with his sword, knowing that those men were easy pray in the battle. Slicing his sword in a downward arc, he knocked the snake back as a powerful shot was fired, causing a massive explosion as the snake fell off the edge of the path. Raising his eyebrow, he turned to see Tori spinning her gun on her finger and blowing across the top of it, smirking at the images that flashed across his mind.

Dustin used his daggers on the second man after stealing from him, and Cassie followed his attack, finishing that guy off too, before they turned their attention to the final snake.

The machina snake rushed at Dustin, making his eyes go wide as he hurriedly backed up and slashed wildly with his daggers.

"Snake, snake, SNAKE!" he yelled as he hit it and knocked it back, allowing him a sigh of relief.

Shaking his head and struggling not to laugh, Blake followed his attack with his sword the same time as Cassie, and they sliced it down the center, effectively cutting the snake in half. It glowed red a moment before exploding as they jumped back to avoid the blow, and when they turned back, there was nothing left of it.

Chancing a wary glance at Cassie, he noticed her eyebrow was raised at him, but she wasn't glaring like last time, which served to make him feel better. Nodding a bit to her, he followed after Tori and they resumed their race.

They ran into a second entrance, running down a long hallway that soon had them jumping to lower floors, or climbing up on steps to leap to another part of the floor. Blake was once again remembering Sensei's obstacle courses and training, and though he wasn't out of breath...yet, he knew he'd be in major pain later.

Just as the exited the second part of the ruin, Bulk appeared in front of them, laughing and holding his protruding stomach as two machina snakes slithered along the path behind him.

"Let's show the Dullwings a nice, warm welcome!" he called as he moved out of the way and ran off.

Raising his eyebrow, Blake watched as the fat man wobbled off and regarded the metallic snakes warily as he grasped his sword. "Dullwings?" he muttered with a confused look.

Tori turned to look at him and sighed. "That's what they call us." Hitting a button on the bracelet-like Garment Grid, she jumped in the air and rotated slowly, her Gunner attire changing into a long black, formfitting dress with separated sleeves that hugged her arms tightly to the elbows, them loosened to flow to her wrists. There were red and yellow designs on the dress, a long slit up one leg that went to her upper thigh, and the skirt came to her ankles, under which, she was wearing calf high black boots with red legs and pointed toes.

As a finishing touch, a giant witch's hat appeared on her head, and she jumped up again to grab a staff that was flying through the air. Spinning around, she grinned cheekily at the monster. "A storm of magic rages within me!" she called as she held her staff in front of her. She began to glow a faint yellow as she closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate.

Dustin nodded and turned towards them. "Yeah, Cassidy and her goons seem to like to try and insult us at every turn." he agreed. Hitting a button on his belt buckle Garment Grid, he jumped into the air and did a flip, his outfit changing as he spins. Replacing his thief outfit, was an outfit similar yet different from the one Tori was wearing. Long black pants appeared with designs running down the outside of the legs, fitting snugly to rest over black boots. His top was a lose black button up shirt with yellow designs along the shoulder and arms, and his hands were covered with black leather, fingerless gloves.

Two fireballs appeared in his hands as he smirked at the snakes, and he closed his hands to extinguish them. "It's payback time!" he called as he closed his eyes and held one hand up in the air as he began to glow yellow as well.

Raising his eyebrow, Blake took a couple of steps back, safely putting himself out of the way of whatever spells they were going to cast. From what he'd heard, and what he was seeing, he guessed this was the black mage dressphere.

As her eyes flew open, Tori cast out the tip of her staff so it was pointing at the enemy and a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, frying it.

Dustin followed her lead, his own eyes flying open as his hand shot down and a lightning blast hit the second snake.

Shaking his head out of his stupor, Blake raced forward to slice the one weakened snake, as Cassie rushed forward to finish off the second.

As the snakes exploded and faded away, Tori and Dustin changed back into their original dresspheres as Blake raised his eyebrow at them. It seemed, that was another thing to change here. Before, only he and Hunter had known the magic. This time, anyone using that dressphere could cast spells.

Frowning a bit, he turned and followed after them as they raced across even more paths. That had made him wonder. Just _what did_ happen to the Hunter from this world? Or Shane for that matter? He hadn't heard or seen anything from them since he returned and it made him worry. He hoped that, in the two years he had been gone, they had managed to survive all right.

Finally reaching a steep climb, Blake once again let Tori climb ahead of him. He wasn't really worried about her falling, seeing as how these were just really seep steps, but he also wanted to guard her back.

Hearing a cry, they all looked up, surprised and amused to find Cassidy hanging off of a ledge by one hand, with Skull hanging off her foot, and Bulk hanging onto Skull's waist. Part of Blake wanted to go help them, but from the cool looks Tori and the others were giving them, he somehow figured they probably weren't in real danger.

As if feeling their stares, Cassidy looked down and frowned as she groaned, glaring at them angrily. "W-Would you...Would you stop staring?!" she yelled as she was obviously trying to keep her cool.

Shrugging, Tori turned and climbed up the rest of the stairs as the others followed her.

They finally made it to a long path that seemed to be made of a sparkling crystal. It was inside a giant dome that could've easily worked as a Blitzball stadium, and right in the middle of it, quite a ways away from the group, there looked to be a crystal tree. It didn't have the same crystallized leaves as the trees in Macalania, but it did have a large, thick trunk that had an opening in it.

As they made their way down the path, a large rumbling was heard above them, and Blake suddenly got the feeling he was being watched. Looking up, a giant crab-like monster was seen crawling across the top of the tree. Shuddering a bit, he rolled his eyes and grabbed his sword as the crab jumped over to them, to land on the ground with a loud thud that shook the entire ruin.

Dustin groaned and shook his head. "It figures we'd run into something like that!" he whined.

Cassie shook her head and grabbed her sword. "It comes!" she warned them as it rushed towards them.

_We can see that._ Blake had almost said that out loud, but managed to force himself to keep from being nasty to her. She looked like she had a volatile temper and held grudges, and he really didn't want to get on the bad side of one of Tori's friends. Grabbing his sword, he glared at the crab, and waited to see who would make the first move.

Tori began firing wildly at the monster, most of the bullets bouncing off it's armored hide. A few found soft spots though, showing the others where to strike, and strike they did.

Blake ran forward with his sword, Cassie running at his side, and together, they furiously attacked it's legs, while dodging it's claws, and soon caused it to collapse. Jumping back, Blake was hit with a claw to the chest, and went flying a few feet, lying on the ground as he cringed in pain. Managing to open his eyes, he watched as Tori seemed torn about running for him or continuing the assault, until Dustin ran over with a hi-potion.

As he took it, feeling much relieved, he slowly got to his feet and watched as Cassie swung at the claws, having managed to take one out. Tori spun the gun on her finger as it began to glow, and shot a powerful burst of energy at the crab, causing it to collapse from the force of the hit, and wobble as it slowly stood back up.

Running forward, he briefly noted Dustin was at his side with his daggers, and Cassie joined on his other side. Together they attacked, swinging their blades at any vulnerable point they could find, as Tori shot at it's head.

As they jumped back, the crab collapsed again and faded away into pyreflies.

Without even wasting time on pleasantries or celebration, the group replaced their weapons and ran towards the opening in the trunk. Entering the small cavern, there was a glowing blue pedestal in the center with a sphere glowing brightly on top. They walked up to it, and Dustin kneeled beside the pedestal as Blake, Cassie and Tori stood around him.

"Found it!" Tori cried with a smile as she cheered.

They heard the sound of heeled footsteps behind them, though it sounded a bit odd, and turned to find Cassidy limping their way with Bulk and Skull trailing behind her almost nervously. She took one look at the sphere and seemed to growl a little before an indifferent look crossed over her face.

"It's obvious to the trained eye, that sphere's just a dud. Perfect for the Dullwings!" she said in a clearly mocking tone.

Unfortunately, she didn't fool them. It was obvious she wasn't happy with not being able to get the sphere first, and it was obvious, to Blake, that she had something up her sleeve. Turning around on her heel, Cassidy limped away with her goons following after her like kicked puppies, leaving the Gullwings, and their newest member, to celebrate their victory.

Dustin jumped up and grinned as he pumped a fist into the air, his body bouncing back and forth a bit. "Youth wins again!" he cried.

It hadn't really hit him until then that Cassidy was older than them. She looked to be about their age, but also just plain seemed...older. Bulk and Skull, on the other hand, both looked to be in their late 20s early 30s.

"Well, I guess _we'll_ be taking this!" Tori stated with a smirk as she picked up the sphere and pumped her fist into the air, much like Dustin.

With a chorus of cheers, the group left the cavern, Tori's empty hand being held firmly by Blake's, and they milled around outside. Dustin walked forward and raised his hand to his mouth, his com link in the inside of his glove, imbedded in the material.

"Brother!" he called as he grinned triumphantly. "Mission complete!"

There was a loud crackle of static before, surprisingly, Adam's voice returned, sounding slightly worried. "Brother? He's not with you?"

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Chapter 4 up. ;)

Sorry to all Cassidy lovers. She just seemed perfect for this role.

Hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	5. Returning to Besaid Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own them.

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(Besaid Island, Tori's POV)

As we neared the entrance to the village, I held back a moment. I was still in the lead, with Blake at the rear, excitedly checking out what all had changed and what had remained the same. The others all stood behind me, waiting for me to go in, but at the same time, not seeming to notice my anxiety.

Two years ago, I left the island without so much as a goodbye to Hunter, and I knew that Shane only had a vague idea of where I was going and how long I would be gone. I was a little nervous. Would they be mad? Part of me knew they wouldn't, but it didn't help my anxiety returning here.

_This must be how a runaway feels after finally coming home. This is the first time I've returned to Besaid since my journey began._

"I'm a little nervous." I admitted out loud, vocalizing my earlier thoughts.

Dustin came bounding up to me and gave me a sympathetic look as Blake came up and took my hand gently, giving me a confused look. Nodding his head a bit, Dustin sighed. "I bet. The way you took off without a word…"

"Yeah, you said it." called an all too familiar voice.

I looked past Dustin and saw Shane standing at the entrance to the city, a beautiful brunette woman standing by his side. In two years, he seemed to have gained a little weight and found himself a wife, who was about eight months pregnant. Other than that, I was sure Blake was probably thinking about how he hadn't changed.

"You caused quite a fuss young lady." He said sternly, only to be nudged in the stomach by the woman at his side.

She was maybe a head shorter than him, with shoulder length black hair that was curled, and black eyes. She seemed to be a petite woman, and seemed to be taking her imminent baby rather well. "Be nice." She scolded Shane with a smile. Turning to me, she shook her head. "It's been too long High Summoner Tori."

Giving a soft, sad smile, I shook my head. "Yes, too long, and please, call me Tori. The Aeons are gone, so I am no longer a Summoner." Looking to Shane, I bowed my head. "I'm sorry." I almost whispered, feeling the old pain from the loss of the Aeons, and the pain at realizing just how much my friends had suffered, not knowing what had happened to me.

Hearing that the Aeons were gone, Blake wondered why or better yet…_how_ he'd been brought back without their power. Remembering the last journey he faced with them, he decided he'd rather not think about that just now.

Shane nodded and sighed. "Well, as long as you're ok, ya?" He looked at Cassie curiously and she waved slightly. "Your friend?" he asked me.

Glancing back, I got a sheepish look before it turned slightly evil. Turning back to Shane, I nodded and grinned. "Oh, this is Cassie. We're looking for spheres together." Then my grin grew even more, and I stepped to the side, allowing Shane a full view of Blake. "And this is Blake. You remember him, right?"

Shane's eyes got wide and his jaw dropped. His face paled and he could only seem to stare in shock at what he figured must've been an unsent in front of him. "But… What? How….." Shaking his head, tears came to his eyes and he rushed forward, enveloping a startled and slightly uncomfortable Blake in a tight hug.

"He'd been sent back to earth." I tried to explain. "We don't know how or why, but he's back."

Cassie shot us a surprised look, as I told her everything about Blake and myself, and now she knew exactly who this strange man was.

Dustin nodded and gave a warm smile as Shane pulled back and laughed, patting Blake on the shoulder as Blake smiled back and clasped his arm.

Turning to look over his shoulder, Shane called to his wife. "Eh, Skyla. This is the Blake I was tellin' you about."

Skyla walked forward with a warm smile and hugged him lightly. "It's nice to finally meet the man Shane's been calling his second brother." She said warmly as she held Shane's hand.

Blake looked really touched, and remembering how he saw our friends, I had no doubt that he saw Shane as a sort of brother as well. Dustin too, really. I couldn't help but wonder how he'd react when he saw Hunter and his new, also pregnant wife.

Turning back to me, though he seemed a bit hesitant to let Blake out of his sight, like he was afraid he'd leave again, he smiled. "So, you're a sphere hunter now…I heard the rumors." He said in a conversational tone. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't really that worried."

In other words, he trusted me, and I was touched he felt that way.

"Gotta say, though…you uhhh…do seem pretty different."

Dustin snickered and ran over, lightly nudging his stomach. "Aww. You haven't changed a bit, tubby." He teased good naturedly.

Brushing the Al Bhed man away, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and grinned. "Whoa! Cut it out, ya! I'm gonna be a father soon. Gotta have more presence, you know?"

That wasn't what I'd call 'presence', but I decided to be nice and not say anything as Skyla giggled at him. "How much longer?" I asked instead.

"Any day now?"

Skyla shook her head and sighed. "Not that soon. More likely in a week or two." She corrected.

"To tell you the truth, I sure don't feel like a father." He said unsurely. "I mean, how do I know how a father's supposed to act in front of his kid?"

Pursing his lips, Dustin walked over to stand beside him, as Blake looked a little overwhelmed by everything he was hearing. "Why not just do what your parents did?"

Looking at the brunette Al Bhed, he sighed, "Hm, don't remember 'em. Sin saw to that when I was still little." He explained with a small shrug.

I tilted my head slightly. "You don't have any spheres of them?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Not a single…."

Dustin caught it as he trailed off. "What's wrong?"

Snapping out of his trance, Shane shook his head again and smiled. "Oh, uh…nothing. Anyway, do me a favor and go say hi to Hunt."

I caught the wry grin on Blake's face and held back a giggle knowing all too well what he was thinking. If anyone called his Hunter 'Hunt', they'd be on the floor and in pain before they could blink.

"He's been worried about you. Get going!" he ordered sternly, pointing to the hut next to his.

With a nod and farewell, we walked towards the hut and knocked on the door. A familiar red-headed woman answered and ushered them in with a smile as she wobbled back to the living room, her extended stomach bouncing a little as she grinned and sat next to her husband.

Looking up, Hunter opened his mouth to say something when he saw us. His eyes widened for a split second before returning to normal and he smiled warmly. By some hidden agreement, Cassie, Dustin and I had taken to hiding Blake behind us. I think, I wanted to see their reactions to being reunited. They might not have been actual brothers, but even on this world, they were close.

"Welcome back." Hunter stated quietly while looking at us. His eyes stopped briefly on Cassie, and then seemed to try to find out what we were hiding.

I got the hint and grinned, seeing the slight suspicion in Hunter's eyes as I waved cheerily. "Hi Hunter." I responded as Dustin nodded and grinned at the red-head, and Cassie offered a small smile.

Always one to speak his mind, he raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Ok, what're you hiding?"

Kelly turned to him and pouted a moment. "Hunter, that's not nice." she scolded lightly.

"But he's right." I said as they both turned to me with confused looks on their faces. I just grinned and clasped my hands behind my back. "I _am_ hiding something." Pretending to think about it, I giggled. "Or rather, some_one_."

Stepping to the side, I heard the gasps and turned to find Blake staring at Hunter with wide eyes that were filling with tears. He took in Kelly and got a small, knowing smile on his face as he nodded to them. "Hey guys." he said quietly with a nod as he took a step forward.

Before anyone could blink, the black mage was up and hugging him tightly, laughing and crying at the same time. Though Hunter wasn't one to show emotion, I wasn't surprised by his reaction. He'd suffered almost as much as me when Blake disappeared, and I was only too happy to reunite them.

Pulling away to arm's length, Hunter looked into his eyes and turned to me with a questioning look before turning back. "But...you jumped off the airship. You faded. How...?"

"He was sent back to earth." I found myself explaining again. "But he's back."

Hunter pursed his lips at that. "But..why?"

Blake shook his head, a confused look coming over his face. "Dunno really. I heard the Aeons are gone, so I dunno how I got here." he said with a small shrug.

Nodding, he seemed to accept this. Smiling he moved back to where his wife now stood, smiling at all of them. "Well I say again, welcome back."

Moving to stand beside Blake, I nodded to Kelly. "You remember Kelly, right? She was part of the Crusaders." I noticed that he nodded and seemed to try not to laugh. I remembered how she was two years ago and smiled as well, knowing why he was reacting like that. "Well now she's Hunter's wife."

Dustin nodded and ran forward. "Yep yep, and now she's eight and a half months pregnant." Turning to Blake he bounced around a bit. "The baby's due any day!"

Kelly laughed and shook her head while Hunter sighed. "Hm. Not yet." Knowing Shane had told them that before, he gave his half smirk. "Shane's getting a little ahead of himself."

That seemed to disappoint Dustin who pouted. "Aww. Bummer!"

Everyone was sent laughing at that. Even Cassie let out a small chuckle as she shook her head, shooting a brief, warm glance at the group. I knew she didn't like showing her warmer side, but also knew she had it in her. it made me wonder what happened to have caused her so much pain, making her isolate herself from people.

Nodding, Hunter took a step forward. "So, care to go for a little walk?"

I looked between him and Kelly, and hesitated. Was it really a good idea for him to leave her alone right now, with how far along she was in her pregnancy? "Can you?"

He looked to Kelly who nodded and turned to us with a grin. "We could use the exercise." Walking past us to the door, with Kelly in tow, he stopped and looked at Blake a moment longer, before looking at me with a happy smile. "Come on."

We left the hut and walked out of the village. We only encountered a couple of small fiends, and Hunter demonstrated that he still had his power, using high level elemental magics to take them out with one hit. Climbing the hill to the summit, and the statue that everyone prayed to, we stopped as Hunter turned back to us with his arms folded over his chest and Kelly stood by his side with a raised eyebrow trained on him.

"So, what's so important that you'd run off without telling us?" he asked with a slightly accusing tone, only to be elbowed in the stomach by a less than impressed, pregnant wife.

Reaching into my pouch, I grasped the familiar, warm surface and brought it out with a sigh. I explained to Blake that Spiran Tori was in love with a man named Zach, who seemed to be the same man in this sphere, but I still felt awkward showing it to them, like I was keeping some sort of secret or something.

"This." I said quietly as I held out the sphere in both hands.

Looking at it closely, Kelly tilted her head a bit with a look of pure confusion on her face, and Hunter looked decidedly suspicious. "The sphere. Shane told me about it." he stated quietly.

I knew he had. It was one of the few things that the two of them knew about when I ran off. Hitting the button on the top, an image formed in the center of it as it began to play.

A image of a man in a large holding cell, obviously the ones from Bevelle, was shown. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes with really pale skin, and was yelling as he shook the bars of the cage.

"No, I won't calm down!" he shouted angrily. "How could you blame me for trying to use your weapon?" He shook his head and his body shook with rage. "It was the only way to save the Summoner!" he cried.

Dustin tilted his head a bit and put his hand to his chin. "Kelk Ronso told us he found it on Mt. Gagazet." he said quietly.

Hunter, having known about Spiran Tori's feelings for Zach, nodded in recognization. It was just before the other Tori and Blake had shown up that he found out about it. Tori had come running into the hut one night, crying and yelling about how Zach was gone. He'd never found out anything more about it, but this man...he _seemed_ to be him, but also...something was off.

He decided to voice his thoughts during a quiet period in the sphere movie. "It _does_ look like him...though something appears a little off." he reluctantly admitted. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something was really wrong with this picture. It didn't seem like a trap, and he wished he knew what it was.

The man in the sphere let out a furious growl. "Let me out!" he shouted. Sliding doen the bars to sit on his knees, he let out a small sob. "I want to see her!"

As the sphere went dark, it left more questions than answers.

Blake was frowning, feeling a little jealous that Tori was travelling to find this man, though he knew she was doing it more for the other version of hers' sake, and he had no reason to be jealous. He was also worried. He'd seen other sphere's before and they were a lot clearer than this one, showing it was a lot older than the others.

Dustin was excited to have found a cool sphere. He was happy when it prompted his cousin to get out and travel, but also curious as to what these spheres meant.

Cassie was suspicious, but for the most part, uninterested. She only travelled for the fun of it, sphere hunting because that's what the rest of the group wanted to do.

I was confused, worried, suspicious and excited all in one. I guess, I didn't know _how_ to feel as I held this sphere. It was a clue, and I was happy to have it, but in our travelling, we hadn't found any more, and I began to feel more than a little disappointed.

"Have you found anything?" Hunter questioned quietly after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

I shook my head. "Nothing. But, there's a lot of places we haven't looked yet." I insisted, not ready to quit the search just yet.

He gave a crooked smirk and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Must be fun, being free to go where you please."

Giggling, I nodded. "It _is_ fun!"

"I'm not there, so you can spread your wings." he put in with a raised eyebrow.

He was obviously talking about the ways I'd changed, and I grinned as I nodded again. "Maybe." I shot back in a teasing voice.

Slapping his hand to his forehead, he shook his head slowly with a grin. "You _have_ spread your wings." he stated with a slightly surprised look. Sighing, he turned serious as the group gathered around. "Well, good luck, but Tori, never forget who you are." he warned.

I blinked in surprise not exactly sure how to make out his warning as I tilted my head and put my hands behind my back. "Huh?"

"You're the High Summoner who defeated Sin. There are those who would use that, Tori." he explained calmly.

Blake walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist, smiling at me gently. Hunter gave him a soft, happy look, and I smiled back, knowing that was his way of silently telling me he'd always protect me. Blinking a moment, I looked at the ground as I remembered the day he made that promise.

_"Blake, stay with me...until the end, please?"_

_"Not until the end...always."_

It seemed like so long ago, but in reality, it was only two years. For the longest time, I'd felt like he broke his promise, but now he was back. Two years had passed and he still loved me, as I still loved him.

Focusing on the present, I looked up from the ground with a determined look aimed at Hunter. "I'll be all right. I won't let myself be used anymore. Not by anyone." I said quietly.

Before anyone could say anything else, Kelly jumped a bit and gasped, putting her hand to her stomach. Hunter spun around and went to her side immediately, but she offered him a smile that showed no pain what-so-ever.

"Kelly?" I called quietly, nervously.

She looked at me and giggled. "It kicked."

A huge smile broke out on my face and I felt my eyes widen. "Really?"

Dustin ran forward with a grin. "I wanna feel!" he cried excitedly.

After the group had managed to settle down, they made their way back to town, where Hunter and Kelly took the lead and headed back to their hut. Halfway across the village, Hunter stopped and turned around. "Since you've come all this way. Why not stay the night?" he called to us, before turning and entering his hut.

I exchanged glances with the others and nodded. That's what we'd do. Going to the hut, Cassie and Dustin immediately bunked down, while I kept Blake up a little while. We discussed a lot as we sat beside the fire pit. We caught up on old times, and even theorized about my morpher. Pulling it out of my pouch, I'd explained to Blake that I hadn't worn it since he left, because it caused me too much pain to remember everything, but I had never gone anywhere without it.

That of course, led to him holding me tightly and apologizing for leaving. He even cried, which of course, started me crying.

Wanting to change the subject, I asked him if he wanted to learn Al Bhed, and he looked shocked that I knew the language. He agreed right away, and I began teaching him that night.

We must've stayed up half the night talking, before either of us were exhausted to the point of passing out. Heading back to the hut, I noticed Hunter was, surprisingly, still awake and looking at us with an almost sly look on his face, making my face heat up.

"Staying the night?" he asked with a crooked grin.

I could only nod, as I was too embarrassed to say anything.

With a nod, Hunter led us to our room. Yes _room_. As in one room between us, as in we had to share. As in only one bed.

My face got even warmer, and I was surprised it hadn't already exploded from embarrassment. Chancing a glance at Blake, I noticed he wasn't doing much better.

With a laugh, Hunter explained that this was the only room left, seeing as how he hadn't expected _four_ guests. Of course, he wasn't the least bit apologetic.

Needless to say, our night was spent comfortably, but at the same time, on edge. Blake and I weren't really uncomfortable around each other, it was just, we didn't want anyone getting ideas.

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I was going to make this one chapter, but realized how long it would be, so I broke it into two.

Finally, Hunter and Shane make an appearance.

**ThunderBrosRule27/OB1follower** : Who says there won't be brotherly love? Just because Hunter and Shane aren't major characters...the group _will_ still see them occassionally. :) There HAS to be brotherly love! I have to have it in my fics:) To be perfectly serious, it doesn't seem right if Blake and Hunter don't have at least ONE moment of brotherly love.

**Pinklen98** : Nope. No lothor. (Jumps for joy) New dangers, but a happy ending for sure.

**JuseaPeterson** : Whenever I even think of it, I try to add a little Blake/Tori romance in there. :)

Special Thanks to : **ThunderBrosRule27, JuseaPeterson **and**Pinklen98** for reviewing so far. I'm really glad you like this fic.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	6. Returning to Besaid Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything. I wish I did, but sadly, I don't. I'm going to go hide in my corner and cry now.

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The next morning, we woke up feeling a little groggy. I knew it was because we'd spent so much time talking, but as much as I wanted to pass back out for a few more hours, I knew it wasn't a good idea.

Instead, we met up with Dustin and Cassie and headed out, surpringly, finding Hunter standing just outside, a worried look on his face as he stared off into space. He must've heard us because he turned around and plastered a fake smile on his face. "Good morning." he greeted in a carefully controlled voice.

I tilted my head a bit as I clasped my hands behind my back. It barely even hit me that it had become a nervous habit of mine to do that. Nodding, I looked around, seeing Kelly and Skyla talking together as they walked down the path to the temple, worried frowns marring their faces. "Oh, where's Shane?"

Sighing, Hunter looked down and shook his head. "He left at daybreak." he said calmly, though the look of worry never faded.

I felt myself frown at this. I knew it had to be around noon now, so he had been gone for a while. And if Hunter, Kelly and Skyla were worried, it made me wonder what he was up to.

"He said something about a cave." Hunter finished wuth a shrug and a shake of his head.

"A cave? I wonder what he's up to." Dustin pouted with a hand to his chin.

"Want us to go find out?" I asked as I grinned a bit. Taking a step towards the gate that led out of the village, I kept myself facing Hunter as I watched his face.

Blake was only one step behind me, staying near.

Dustin grinned as well and hopped in front of the older black mage. "Yeah! There might be fiends!" he stated excitedly.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Hunter chuckled as he stared at the ground. Looking up, we all saw the amusement in his eyes. "Thanks, though I doubt he'd have trouble handling a few fiends. Still, I'm a little worried." he admitted with a slight frown. "It's not like Shane to hide things."

Thinking over what he said, I frowned as I looked at him curiously. "That's funny. I don't remember anything about a cave."

"I don't know much about it either." Sighing, Hunter rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Would you mind checking it out?" he asked politely.

I nodded and bounced a bit. "We're on the case!"

Making sure we were stocked up on items, we left the town, climbing the hill towards the path to the beach. Cassie and Dustin took point, walking several feet ahead of us, and Blake walked at my side.

"So..." Blake started, smiling in a knowing way. "Hunter and Kelly."

I giggled quietly, nodding in answer. "I know. I always thought there was something there, you know?"

Sighing, he turned a little more serious. "Last time I saw my bro, he was dating Kelly. He liked her, but was a bit..." Shrugging helplessly, he shook his head. "Wary, I guess. I think, he's still scared of getting close to anyone."

I nodded as I remembered when Dustin had first introduced Blake and Hunter to Shane and I. Blake seemed pretty ok, but Hunter had this guarded look in his eyes, like he was waiting for one of us to attack him or something. Even after joining the team, he stayed distant for a while. He only slowly opened up to us because we wouldn't leave him alone.

"Shane and Skyla though..." Blake raised an eyebrow and laughed quietly. "I guess I should've seen it coming."

It was true. On earth, Skyla had come down to give Shane the battlizer. He had to save her from Vexacus, only to have her...what? Die? Fade away? I don't think anyone knows, but he was really saddened by it. It was only one day, but even I could tell that if she'd stayed around, they would've gotten together.

"Tor, you ok?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned my head to see Blake regarding me with worry. I felt my face heat up under his scrutiny and giggled. "Fine." I reassured him. "I was just remembering the past."

I could tell he wanted to question me further, but as we passed some machina ruins that went over the path we were taking, my com went off. Placing my hand by my mouth, I activated it.

"Any trouble?" Brother asked in a monotone.

I was really getting sick of this crush of his. I just wished he would see that not only was it wrong, but I just wasn't interested. "We're fine." I stated with a long sigh. Then to be polite, though heaven knows why, I asked the same of him. "You?"

"My heart...is aching..." he said in a hoarse voice.

I felt my face heating up once again and sigh silently, counting to ten to keep from yelling at him. Instead, I decided to act clueless. "Huh?"

Blake grabbed my other hand and held it tightly. The way his dark eyes flashed, I could easily tell he was _not_ amused! Neither was I really, but for politness sake, I chose to try and hide my irritation, hoping that he'd see me with Blake, how much I love him, and would back off.

"Ahh, nothing!" Brother quickly replied.

I bet if I'd seen him, he would've had his hands up in front of his face, waving them wildly as he tried to look innocent. Turning off my com, I closed my eyes a moment before opening them and smiling at Blake who was watching me with concern.

We continued down the trail, heading across the waterfalls, only stopping when Dustin hopped down the small cliff to a treasure chest below, and continuing on. Soon we made it to the beach path, but before crossing, another transmition came in, making me wonder what was up with Brother.

Raising my com to my mouth, I raised an eyebrow. "Tori here." I was met with silence and frowned, knowing someone was on the other end. "Huh. That was weird." I muttered out loud, startled slightly when Adam's voice came over the com.

"It's nothing." he stated quickly, obviously hiding something, and I let out a sigh of relief, knowing he'd stopped brother from bothering me.

Whereas Brother was a total pain, Adam was a total saint, somehow managing to keep me sane when Brother went off on one of his rants or whatever.

With a shrug, we continued on, noticing an open doorway in the cliff by the beach path. I frowned as we got closer, noticing that it hadn't been there before. Upon inspection, it turned out to be an old machina doorway that had been opened, and we hesitantly walked inside. Going down a short corridor, I noticed Shane sitting on the ground in the dark, damp cave, frowning as he stared at the ground.

He must've heard us approaching, because he turned to look at us and for a split second, his face seemed to cloud over with worry, but a moment later, it was gone. "Something wrong?" he asked casually.

_I'll say._ I thought darkly as I struggled to keep from yelling at him. He'd taken off, worrying Hunter, Kelly and Skyla, and asked _us_ if anything was wrong? "We came to check on you." I said simply as I raised an eyebrow.

Dustin tilted his head and walked over. "Is there something in this cave?"

Now Shane looked decidedly confused and nervous. "Uh, yeah...somethin' like that. Who knows, maybe it's not here, ya?" He began rambling as he looked to the path in front of him. "But I though, 'what if?' Maybe it's for real. Then again, maybe it never was. Been so long, I'm not even sure anymore."

I blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of what he was saying, and turned my head to see Blake looking as lost as I felt. In other words, something was in this cave...or it wasn't.

Cassie shook her head. "So you're saying there's something that might be here, and you want to know for sure, right?" she clarified in her usual monotone.

Feeling impressed, I turned and looked at her with eyes I knew must've been the size of saucers. _How the hell'd she figure _that_ out??_ I mentally questioned.

Of course, Shane had to go and make such a simple statement confusing. "Right." he agreed, nodding, before he shook his head. "But you see...I wanna know, and then I sorta don't wanna know."

Was it bad that I really wanted to bang my head on the wall right now? How could he turn everything so simple, into such confusing things so easily?

Dustin seemed to agree with me. He tilted his head to one side, then the other, his look totally lost. Then, he frowned and grabbed his hair with his hands, shaking his head violently. "Aww, man! Make up your mind!" he cried as he fell to his knees and gave us a lost look. "What is this thing anyways?"

Now Shane scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, uhh...you see...I heard there was this old sphere." he explained.

Ahhh. Now I finally understood...I think.

"A sphere? Of what?" Dustin asked excitedly as he jumped up and began grinning.

That was Dustin for you. He changed moods faster than a pregnant woman.

"A sphere of..." He trailed off and looked pained for a moment before shaking his head. "You know, what does it matter?" he asked in a resigned voice.

Cassie shook her head and began to walk down the path, further into the cave.

Jumping up, Shane held his hand out. "Hwy, whoa!" he cried.

She turned and and regarded him cooly. "We're sphere hunters, remember?"

Thumping his hand against his chest, Dustin nodded as he bounced over to Cassie. "That sphere is as good as ours!" he cried.

"All right Gullwings..." I started as I threw a sly look at the others.

"Time for business!" Dustin finished as he grabbed his daggers and spun them, before hanging them back on his belt.

As we turned and ran down the path, I could've sworn I heard Shane muttering 'Gullwings huh?' behind us. We rounded a corner and stopped as we came to a split path. Dustin took off down the left path before any of us could say one thing, and we all followed him, soon coming to a dead end with a treasure chest. Dustin whooped for joy before opening the chest, revealing six potions, which he quickly grabbed up and stuffed in his pouch.

Then back down the path it was. We went straight this time, taking the only path we had yet to travel, and ran down the long corridor, coming to an area where we had to climb and jump across the broken path to the other side.

And on the other side was a pedestal with a glowing sphere on it!

We stood by the pedestal, knowing there was more to this than met the eye as we warily looked around. Suddenly, a large dragon with flames shooting from it's caping mouth, appeared in front of us, breaking through the rock wall like tissue paper.

I quickly placed my hands on my guns as Dustin grabbed his daggers, and paused as I checked out the monster.

"Find a sphere and the fiends appear." Cassie put in with a sigh as she grabbed her sword.

Tapping my chin a moment, I jumped as I realized something. "It's a Fire Drake!" I cried triumphantly. Turning to the others, I nodded. "That means it's weak against ice!"

Dustin got my message and changed into his Black Mage dressphere, and Cassie nodded before resuming her pose. Hitting my Garment Grid, I also changed into black mage and closed my eyes as I concentrated on an ice spell.

Cassie took her chance and ran forward to slice at the drake, distracting and weakening it slightly, and Blake eagerly followed her lead. Together, they gave us the time needed to charge our spells, and Dustin cast his blizzara first.

"I like mine on the rocks!" he cried as his hand shot down, and the drake was coated with ice that soon exploded, the cold, sharp edges cutting it deeply and bringing a howl of pain.

Nodding with a crooked grin, I opened my eyes and pointed my staff at the creature, following his lead. "Cool off!" I yelled as the ice coated it a second time.

The drake stumbled and staggered as it's wounds bled out and fired a jet of flame at us. We barely managed to avoid it, and Dustin and I concentrated again.

Blake ran forward and sliced the fiend across the scaled neck with his blade, cutting deeply, only to be hit by a claw and thrown painfully into a wall, where he laid unmoving.

Cassie glared at the fiend angrily and charged up her blade with ice energy. It was one of the Warrior Dressphere's many abilities, Ice Blade. Running forward, she slashed the same area as Blake and knocked the drake back a foot, before running over to him and using a phoenix down to revive him, and handing him a potion.

Dustin's spell was finally ready and he opened his eyes as he threw his hand down, calling out as he cast the spell. "What's wrong, cold feet?"

That final spell was enough to finish it off and it collapsed to the ground, fading away into pyreflies.

Sensing that the danger was past, I opened my eyes and let the spell fall away. Turning around, I noticed Blake getting to his feet with a wince of pain and ran over, handing him a second potion to drink. "You ok?" I asked quietly.

He looked at me and offered a small smile with a nod as he used the second potion as well.

I felt my heart soar with relief when I knew he was all right, and them I felt my face heat up when I realized he was checking me out. Grinning at me, I giggled at the blush on Blake's face before changing back into my Gunner. He pulled me close and kissed my forehead with a slight chuckle. "That's not any different." he mumbled quietly, and I felt my face heating up even more, knowing he was taking about my rather..._revealing_ choice of clothing.

Deciding to get the subject off me, before my head exploded, I turned away and walked towards the sphere, kneeling down beside the pedestal. Checking it out, I took the sphere and jumped up again with a grin. "One more for the Gullwings!" I cried happily.

We all raced back to Shane, who stood up on our arrival and looked at us curiously. "You find anything?"

Dustin nodded. "We sure did!" he chirped excitedly.

Raising the sphere in front of me, I tilted my head a bit. "Let's watch it!"

I hit the button to play it, and a beautiful, sunny beach was shown. It was easily recognizable as Besaid beach, and as the scenery changed, the sphere showed different places on Besaid. Then the screen went black, signalling it was the end of it, and I turned to Shane who looked disappointed.

"This it?" Dustin asked in a confused voice.

Waving his hand, Shane shook his head. "Nah, 'fraid not." he said with a sigh.

Together, the five of us walked back towards Besaid. We made it to the falls and began talking along the way.

"So, what sphere were you looking for?" Dustin asked as he walked backwards.

Scratching the back of his head, Shane sighed. "Well...It's a sphere of our parents. Porter said he found it."

"Porter?" Dustin asked, clueless, before he got an enlightened look. "Oh! Your brother!"

Shane nodded sadly. "He was a Crusader. Now he's gone to the Farplane. Sin got our parents not long after Porter was born. We were too young to remember their faces, you know?"

It seemed like it pained him to talk about it, but at the same time, like he _had_ to talk about it.

"When we were kids, we got into a fight one time, and Porter said, 'I found a sphere with mom and dad in it, but I'm not telling you where it is'."

I felt a frown biting at the corner of my lips. "You never asked him about it?"

He shook his head slowly. "I was too boneheaded to let my brother win. So I went on without until I just forgot about it. Then yesterday, talking with you made me think about it again. Porter used to play in that cave, so I thought maybe he found the sphere here, ya? But when I came to look...I got to thinking."

"About what?" Dustin asked as he tripped over a rock in the road and jumped back to catch his balance.

"See, I got this picture of my parents in my head, ya? Strong, and kind... Whenever things got tough, those are the parents I imagined." he admitted with a small, genuine smile. Then he sighed and looked sad again. "But their real faces might be totally different, ya? I think about that, and I'm not so sure I really wanna know. I was sittin' there, trying to figure out what to do. Then you guys showed up."

Chuckling a bit, Dustin walked over to him and shook his head. "That's our Shane." he said with a fond smile.

Thinking over what he said, I nodded absently to myself. "There sphere might still be somewhere on the island. Should we look for it?"

"Nah, that's all right." Shane said with a shake of his head. "I'm through worrying about that stuff. What's past is past, ya? Can't let it get to me. I'm going to be a father soon. Gotta pull it together."

Nudging his side, Dustin grinned. "That's right, dad." he teased.

Shane raised his right arm, and then let it fall limply to his side again as the same confused look crossed his face. "But, uh...just how am I supposed to pull it together? Sure wish I had something to go by, you know?"

Cassie rolled her eyes and looked away, and Blake seemed torn between pulling out his hair and laughing at the poor Besaidian. Dustin groaned and shook his head, and I giggled at all of them.

Suddenly, we got a transmition from Adam, and I activated my com.

"You about done down there? Brother's really starting to get on my nerves!"

I raised an eyebrow and bit my lip to keep from laughing. Honestly, at this point, I was surprised anyone had nerves left for him to get on. "Yeah, we'll be back soon."

Brother was heard in the background, whooping for joy. "YAY!"

That caused everyone to laugh but Blake, who was glaring into space, and me who wanted to bang my head on the wall, then throw Brother off the ship. I was actually close to taking bets on how long before he took up sky-diving with a parachute.

We said our goodbyes and got on the airship to have Ethan analyze the sphere we found. It turned out it was good as a White Mage, and while we were gone, it seemed he came up with a new Garment Grid for Blake.

Blake was excited to finally have one, and as I directed Brother to go to Luca, he and I went down to the cabin so I could show him how it worked.

I was quite honestly eager to see how the outfits looked on him.

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Did I just make Tori sound like a pervert? Uhhh...sorry. I was going for teasing and stuff.

Anyways, hope you like this. :)

R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	7. Luca's Mission from a Different POV

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything. If I owned Power Rangers, Tori and Blake would've gotten together for sure and had at least ONE kiss! Sadly however, we can only dream. :(

**Note** : If you remember the concert from the first chapters. this is a chapter dedicated to a different POV of what happened, done with a series of flashbacks. Sorry if I called Cassidy Leblanc at all. I'm having a hard time remembering that the name is different.

Just so you know...

Cassidy - Leblanc Bulk - Ormi Skull - Logos Adam - Buddy Ethan - Shinra

These are the characters from different Ranger series' replacing the Final Fantasy X-2 characters. There's more to come, but I'll name them when they make an appearance.

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(Luca)

As we entered the busy city of Luca, I stopped a moment to let Blake look around. I could tell he wasn't sure if he should be happy or disappointed that nothing really changed here, Turning to me, he grinned and raised his hands to his mouth, blowing out a sharp whistle.

Nodding, I smiled back and reutnred the whistle easily. What he didn't know was, while he was gone, I spent a good six months whistling at the docks of Luca, every day, in hopes he would return, and it really fine tuned it for me.

I giggled as I noticed the impressed look he was giving me

"Lady Tori, your concert was incredible!"

Turning around, I gasped as I noticed the small crowd of people who'd gathered around me. It was a young man who had spoken, and he had clear adoration in his eyes. As much as I was flattered, I took a step back and blindly reached out for Blake's hand. Feeling a warm hand squeeze mine, I turned to see it was Blake and smiled softly.

"Could you sign this, please?" a little boy asked, running up to me with a blitzball.

Nodding a bit, I let go of Blake's hand and knelt down, taking the ball and pen from the boy and signing my name on it. Handing it back, I smiled as he blushed and ran off with a faint 'thank you' left hovering in the air.

Dustin and Cassie walked in front of Blake and I, holding the crowd back so they didn't flatten me.

"Single file, no pushing!" Dustin called with a grin. "The Gullwings, at your service!" he finished in a sing-song tone.

Turning my back to them, I walked to the bridge that looked over the city and sighed.

_I couldn't bring myself to tell them it was just an imposter. The whole mess started with the Garment Grid... That's the invention that lets us harness the dresspheres' power._

**Flashback**

I ran over to the final dock, to see the familiar forms of Bulk and Skull, cornering my friends, and a person behind them who I couldn't make out. Grabbing my guns, I aimed quickly and let lose a torrent of bullets at their feet, causing them to jump around a bit before spinning to see me.

**End Flashback**

_Believe it or not, that was the easy part!_

**Flashback**

Dustin and Cassie were walking up the stairs ahead of me as I struggled to keep up with them. It was hard. This suit made it almost impossible to move, and I felt like I was burning up inside it.

_We chased the thieves to Luca, but when we got there..._

"Hear that? Lady Tori in concert!" a man cried as he rushed past me, not even shooting me a second glance.

A second man joined him. "All right! Think there's any tickets left?"

"Looks like your imposter's pretty popular." Dustin put in with a grin as he stared at me.

Cassie shook her head with a smirk. "I doubt anyone would believe our's in the real Tori."

Laughing, Dustin shook his head. "Not dressed like that!" he cried, pointing at me and laughing some more.

I felt my face heating up even more and glared at them through the heavy mask. "I didn't ask to wear this!" I snapped and whined at the same time.

Stumbling up the stairs, I sighed and groaned as I staggered back and almost fell back down them. I was dressed in what Ethan liked to call the 'Gullwings' Prized Garment'. Honestly, I wanted to change into my Gunner and chuck this thing as far as I could into the ocean.

Just who's idea was it to make a Mascot dressphere anyway?

No, Cassie was right. No one would know it was me, because no one could _see_ me. All anyone saw, was a giant moogle hobbling down the path.

In case you're wondering, a moogle looks really similar to a white stuffed bear, only with a bright red pompom on the top of their head.

To say I was embarrassed and unimpressed would be an understatement. I finally made it to the top of the stairs and let my shoulders sag as I panted for breath. "Phew, it's hot in here!" I whined.

Cassie smirked and turned to Dustin. "Shall we finish this before Tori faints?" she put in, in an amused tone.

Dustin grinned and laughed. Turning to me, he pointed his finger in my face and shook it. "We'll be back in two shakes, so you be a good moogle, you hear?"

Once they left, I sighed and went back down the stairs to wander in town. I didn't know what to do, so I decided to stay nearby, just in case.

_The plan was to sneak into the imposter's concert and recover the Garment Grid. If I went in our cover would be blown, so it was up to Dustin and Cassie, which left me with nothing to do but lie low and wait._

A strong breeze came along and almost knocked my mask off and I hurriedly and awkwardly fixed it back in place with a hidden frown.

_And that's how I got stuck with the Gullwings' prized...Garment._

**End Flashback**

We were now on the first large platform upon entering the city, at the bottom on the large stairwell. I could tell from the smirks on Cassie and Dustin's faces that they too were remembering our mission and frowned as I felt my face heating up.

Dustin turned back to look at me and tilted his head a bit. "So what _did_ you do while we were gone?"

Clasping my hands behind my back, I turned so my back was facing him and twisted at the waist to look back at him, grinning secretively. "Top secret!" I teased.

I noticed Blake staring at us in confusion and thanked God he didn't know about me being in that moogle suit. That was the only time we were allowed to wear it, and now Ethan held onto it, not wanting to part with his favorite toy. To be honest, I was more than happy to let him keep it. That was one sphere I could do without, thank-you-very-much!

A little girl nearby saw me and came running up, and I knelt down beside her. In her excitement, she let go of her balloon and it floated away into the sky, much to the chagrin of the girl. "Mommy, mommy! My balloon!" she cried as she jumped, trying to catch it.

**Flashback**

Entering the main plaza area for Luca, I looked around as I fixed the mask of the Mascot Dressphere again. Letting my head fall a bit, I sighed in frustration. "Oh hurry up!" I whined quietly, seriously getting tired of waiting for them.

I walked a bit farther into the plaza area, and a man came running up to me. "You! Get over here!" he called in a hurry before running back to a balloon stand.

"Huh?" Raising an eyebrow, I warily approached the guy, already getting a rough idea of what he wanted, and dreading it.

"You're here to promote the concert, right?"

I felt my eyes widen and raised my costume covered hands in an attempt to wave him off. I shook my head quickly and took a single step back. "Me? No, there must be some mistake!" I insisted.

He smiled and nodded before turning and beginning to walk off. "Thanks! And hey, don't screw up!" he called as he took off and ran down the street.

_Did I do it because I _couldn't_ turn him down, or because the conversation was over before I had the chance?_

I passed out ten balloons before I seriously got fed up and quit. Luckily, just as I handed off the tenth one, I got a transmition from Dustin.

"T...D...C...In position. It's showtime."

"It's starting!" I cried in worrry, not knowing what I was supposed to do at that point.

**End Flashback**

"The place was _packed_ with people dancing!" Dustin cried as he bounced around.

Tilting my head, I walked a bit further and lost myself in thought. "Think Cassidy was enjoying herself?" I mused out loud, wondering just why she decided to pretend to be me and throw a concert.

Cassie snorted and shook her head. "Until she got hurt." she put in a tiny hint of amusement hiding in her eyes.

**Flashback**

"Does she look that much like me?" I wondered out loud as I wobbled up to the main gate, hoping to get in and see what was going on.

A guard at the gate saw me approaching and raised his hand, stopping me with a frown. "Hold it! The concert's sold out. You can't go in." he stated firmly.

Pouting behind the mask, I let my shoulders sag. "I can't?"

"Definitely not! Go on, get ot of here!" he ordered.

Just as I was about to leave, a second guard showed up. "Hey, we got some gate crashers!" he called.

The guard that had ordered me off, turned around with a glare. "Must be those sphere hunters!" he snarled.

Both guards transformed from guards to the green glad goons that Cassidy used in her attacks and stared at each other a moment. I was shocked, but I guess, I shouldn't have been. If Cassidy was there, then it only made sense that she'd post her own 'guards' at the entrances.

"Let's move!" The goon that was formerly the guard who brushed me off, yelled.

"Yes sir!" his comapnion cried as they ran up the stairs.

Shaking my head, I raised my hand to my mouth. I hadn't heard from Cassie or Dustin, so I didn't know what to do. "Oh no." I muttered as I ran off to a different path. I ran towards the docks and began walking, hoping they'd send me a signal soon.

It looks like I got my signal in a different way than I was expecting.

"Hold still!"

Turning back, I noticed an eerily familiar figure running in my direction with Dustin and Cassie chasing after her. It looked like Dustin had been the one to cry out, but my focus was on the closest figure. "It's me!" I cried quietly as I turned and ran down the docks. Running into a random one, I knelt down and huddled into a ball.

_I didn't know what I was doing..._

Dustin ran over and touched me, and when I looked up at him, I just raised my hand, healing him without a second thought. I figured it was suspicious, the way he had this weird, triumphant grin and a sneaky gleam in his eyes, but didn't think to question it just yet.

It didn't het me until just a little while after seeing Blake, that Dustin was waiting for the perfect moment to tell me he was back.

_Dustin sure seemed to be having fun!_

He ran back off again with a grin and a yell to the imposter me, and I took a deep breath. When I lifted my head again, they were out of sight and I stood up, freezing cold when I saw Skull walk by. He looked at me suspiciously for a moment with his guns in his hands, before he walked on by and I felt my eyes widen.

"Looks like trouble." I whispered to myself. Once he was out of sight, I lifted the moogle mask off my sweaty face and shook out my hair as I tossed it into the air. I quickly hit a button on my Garment Grid and changed back into my Gunner. As I felt the cool breeze hitting my skin, I let out a sigh of relief. "Finally!" I sighed.

I ran up behind Bulk and Skull and aimed my guns. "Here comes the _real_ Tori!" I stated firmly to myself as I began firing the shots.

**End Flashback**

We were standing on the docks now as we remininced and Dustin was playfully glaring at me.

"I was just about to finish 'em off, but then you showed up and stole all the fun!" he whined with a mock pout, before busting out in a huge grin.

Giggling, I felt myself blush and clasped my hands behind my back as I scuffed my foot in the ground like a scolded child. "I guess I was so glad to get out of that thing, I went a little nuts." I said, trying to explain.

"That explains the dancing." Cassie put in, in her usual monotone as she crossed her arms over her chest. A hint of amusement hid in her eyes though, and I knew she was only teasing.

Blake walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist as he kissed the side of my head. "I think it was cute." he whispered in my ear, and I blushed as I looked at the ground.

The coms suddenly crackled to life, and Brother's overly excited voice was heard. "Tori? Dancing? Where? I am there!"

"Listening close enough?" Dustin shot back in a disgusted tone of voice.

I growled silently under my breath and felt Blake's arm tighten around me in protectiveness. Placing my hand over his, I heard the airship behind us. Closing my eyes, I heard Spiran Tori's thoughts bubble up in my head, and sighed.

_So this is my life now. We travel from place to place, and the days just seem to fly by. But sometimes...I find myself stopping, and wishing I could hear Zach's voice._

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I frowned a bit, glad no one was paying attention to me. Since when did _I_ want to hear his voice? I think...I knew, it was Spiran Tori. We were so integrated now, that sometimes I thought her thoughts. It was kind of scarey. I love Blake, and I don't want to lose him, but at the same time, I feel torn because of Spira's version of me.

I just hoped, everything would work out for the best.

(Mi'ihen Highroad)

Instead of boarding the airship, we decided to head back through Luca and go to the Mi'ihen Highroad.

Walking up the long staircase, I sighed as we came to the vast plain. It was the same as it was two years ago, but for the new additions to it. Machina, tame machina, now roamed the Highroad, guarding against fiends, and instead of chocobo's people had begun using machina hovercrafts to travel the length of Mi'ihen in a matter of minutes.

_The Mi'ihen Highroad. Where Crusaders once marched toward battle with Sin, while travellers fled from it's shadow._

Turning my attention to Blake who had his eyes closed and was enjoying the sun, I let out a silent sigh as i remembered the last time I travelled this road.

_I walked this road too, on my pilgrimage to Zanarkand, and you walked by my side. It was a journey filled with laugher._

Taking a hover to the other side, I noticed Blake's disappointed expression amd knew he wanted to walk it. Part of me agreed with him. Now that Spira was safe from harm, I wanted to go to the Travel Agency and stay the night, allowing us to enjoy the sunset again, without the knowledge that I was travelling to my supposed death.

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Ok. Another chapter done:)

I think, I like this chapter best so far, from all the chapters I've done.

I hope you like it.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi


	8. Mushroom Rock Road

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but my ratty computer which I used to type this.

**Note** : The updates may be slower for this fic. Sorry about that. I AM working on it, that I assure you.

Meyvn - Just a word used to refer to a leader. It's like Maester, just not as important. Also, you'll find Praetor. That's the same sort of thing.

Bridge - Yaibal Meyvn Carlos - Meyvn Nooj.

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(Mushroom Rock Road, Blake's POV)

Upon entering the Mushroom Rock Road, we headed down the path, only to find Bulk and Skull ahead of us. They had their backs to us, so they obviously didn't see us as they ran down a side path full of people, but I found it suspicious that they were here.

Apparently, so did the others.

"Uhg! It's those goons again!" Dustin whined in disdain, obviously not really wanting to deal with them.

Cassie put a hand to her chin in thought as she watched them retreat. "Maybe there's a sphere here?" she mused out loud.

I was beginning to get the idea of what being a sphere hunter entailed, and though it was fun...to an extent, it was also really time consuming. The days not spent sphere hunting, were spent talking about spheres and hunts. Was it really too much to ask for a day off?

Tori bound up the path a bit and turnd back to us with a sneaky grin. "It's _our_ turn to do the following!" she cried.

It's amazing how one smile from Tori, and I'd do anything she wanted. I wasn't complaining either. As soon as I saw that grin, all I wanted to do was hunt down Bulk and Skull for her, so I could see her smile again.

We travelled to the path they took, only to be blocked off by an over excited young man in a helmet. His brown eyes bored into us and he broke out into a huge grin as he bound happily up to Tori.

"Good to see you again, Lady Tori. You remember me, don't you?"

I could hear the hopeful tone and admiration in his voice, and took a moment to think about all the friends Tori had made since coming to Spira. Part of me wasn't really surprised though. My Tor was good at making friends.

Standing by silently, I watched as she took that adorable pose of hers, clasping her hands behind her back, and tilting her head a bit. I kind of missed the way her hair was on earth, but thought that this style kind of looked cool too. That was a surprise though, since the Tori I knew hated the idea of cutting her hair.

In fact, she once admitted to me that when she was under the influence of the Nightmare Collar, her biggest fear was having her hair cut against her will. I thought it was a little funny, but held back on laughing, knowing how serious she was about it.

"Bridge, isn't it? You're from the Youth League." she responded sweetly.

I'd learned enough to know that the Youth League and New Yevon were two political parties fighting for power. There was a third party as well, one known as the Machine Faction, led by the Al Bhed, but they remained neutral in the power struggle.

Bridge grinned and nodded vigorously. "You really do remember me!" he cheered. "I'm truly honoured Lady Tori! Since the day we first spoke, the Youth League has been conducting a sphere hunt of it's own. We, the Youth League...hmmm..." He trailed off and turned around, his eyes landing on an all too familiar man in the rank of people behind him. "Cole, take it from here!"

The young man sighed and got a clearly bored look on his face as he slumped a bit. "We, the Youth League, to better our undersstanding of Spira's past, vow to remain vigilant in our search for..." He made a small face and shook his head. "For ruins and spheres." he finished with obvious distaste.

"Ohh, that's enough!" Dustin cried, a look of frustration covering his face. "Those two guys are getting away!"

Cassie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Did Cassidy's men pass through here?"

"Yes." Bridge answered with a confused look. "They said they were here to handle our fiend problem. You see, the Youth League is in preparation for an impotant operation, leaving our patrols shorthanded. As a result, the road to the headquarters has been overrun with fiends. Be warned, unless you can defeat those fiends, you will not be able to pass."

"We can handle it." Tori told him firmly.

With a nod, Bridge turned back to Cole. "Cole! Show them the way!"

"Y-Yes! Please follow me, Lady Tori!" he said as he rushed down the side path.

We followed him along, and Cassie and Dustin walked ahead.

"All right! Let's hunt some fiend!" Dustin cheered as they disappeared around a bend.

Tori remained behind, and I turned to Cole. "You seem down." I told him quietly as she walked over.

"Well, a lot has happened since Lady Tori brought us the Calm. I ended up following Captain Taylor. When she joined the Youth League, so did I, but I'm still stuck playing tour guide." Letting out a wistful sigh, he turned and looked out over the way we had come. "You know, all I want's to ride a chocobo...faster than the wind!"

Leaving Cole to day dream, we wandered down the path, fighting off difficult fire elementals, large mushroom-like fiends and wolves. Tori and Dustin took up the roles of being our black mages, and Cassie attacked with her sword and I took position of Thief.

I was dressed in navy blue pants that almost looked black and fit a little loosely, and a snug fitting black shirt with navy trim. Fingerless gloves covered my hands and navy blue bladed daggers hung on my hips. Running forward, and stole a couple of potions from the fire elementals and Tori and Dustin used ice spells to decimate them in seconds.

Soon we made it to a large pile of rocks that fell to the ground of a much lower path like stairs, and noticed Bulk and Skull running along that lower path. Jumping down, we gave chase and soon found ourselves in front of a strange doorway with ten sphere recesses, and Cassidy's personal goons were digging through a small pile of red and orange spheres. One that they touched, was a red one, and it fit perfectly into the doorway, but the orange ones all fell out when they tried to fit them in.

"This one ain't no good." Bulk groaned as yet another orange sphere dropped out and hit the ground.

Skull shook his head and watched as another fell loose. "Nor this one."

Tori walked a step forward and watched them for a moment before tilting her head. "What're you doing?" she asked curiously.

They spun around, and Bulk dropped an armload of spheres. Hurrying to gather them, he groaned again. "Let's get outta here!" he cried as he grabbed all but one, not seeming to notice it was missing.

"We must inform the boss!" Skull agreed, before spinning one of his guns on his finger and shooting at the ground in front of them, giving of a blast of dark smoke that temporarily blinded us.

When it cleared up, they were gone, but the sphere they left behind was still there. I ran over and picked it up carefully, turning to see Tori looking at me with a smile. "Hey! Look what they left behind!" I announced as I held out the sphere.

"Finders keepers." she agreed, gently taking the sphere from me and putting it safely into her pouch.

Walking up the the door, we regarded it closely and Tori pursed her lips as she pulled the sphere back out again, looking at it closely. It had been the red one that fit so well into the door, and as she placed it in one of the recesses, she jumped back a bit.

I walked forward and put my hand out, over the sphere, and felt a burst of power coming from it. Not sure what was happening, or what it could mean, I pulled the sphere back out and handed it to her with a confused look at the door.

Heading back to the exit, we were stopped by another all too familiar face as he approached. "Hey. Long time no see. Remember me?" he asked with a kind, yet strained smile.

"Of course I do!" Tori replied.

I did too. It was Jason, one of Billy's faithful Guardians from two years ago. Only now, he wasn't with his brothers, but was alone.

"Glad to hear it."

Tori tilted her head a bit. "How've you been?"

Sighing a bit, he looked past her to the doorway and I noticed the concerned look in his eyes. "I joined up with the Youth League and that's been keeping me pretty busy."

"I became a sphere hunter." she admitted in return.

He nodded and gave a soft smirk. "Ah, that sounds great, trying out a new way of life. Actually, Rocky's a sphere hunter too. He's the leader of the Kinderguardians. Be nice to him if you see him." he said with a fond smile.

I raised an eyebrow and bit my lip hard to keep from laughing. Rocky was way too old to be any where _near_ kindergarden, but with his attitude, I guess anything was possible.

"How's Billy?"

Jason's smile faultered and he walked past us to go stand by the doorway. "The Youth League discovered this place, you know. It's called the Den of Woe. It was sealed around the time of Operation Mi'ihen."

I noticed a haunted look coming over Cassie and she closed her eyes tightly, quickly turning away and resuming her emotionless mask, but it was already too late. She may have thought no one noticed, but I did. It was obvious, something horrible had happened here, and she knew more about it than she wanted to.

"And...Billy?" Tori tried again, her own smile fading.

Jason's whole body stiffened and he kept his back to us. "But, uhh..." his voice cracked a bit and he cleared his throat. "The seal can suposedly be broken with the right combination of spheres."

"Um..." Tori looked lost and confused.

Shaking his head, he folded his arms over his chest. "I'm afraid this place is off-limits until we can conduct a more thorough investigation. So, I'll umm, Have to ask you to leave." he said with a little difficulty.

Tori seemed to get the idea, though her confusion never left her face, and she waves for us to follow her. We went back up to the higher path and walked along it silently until we came to an elevator where a young brunette woman came running up.

"Oh, wow! Lady Tori! It's me, Alyssa! It's been so long! Wow! You've really changed!" she said quickly in her excitement.

I felt my eyes widen a bit as I took in just how many 'familiar faces' we were running across.

Smiling, Tori nodded. "How are you?" she asked excitedly.

"Never better!" the girl responded enthusiastically. "Now that I'm in the Youth League, I've always got something to do! Hey, you made it past all the fiends! Nice work!" She turned to a young man and a teenage boy who stood in front of the gate to the headquarters and nodded to them. "Go ahead, step aside!" she ordered firmly.

"Right away, Captain!" They responded in unison, stepping out of the way.

Alyssa turned around with a blush and huge grin on her face, and Tori giggled, giving her an impressed look. "Wow! Look at you!" she cried happily.

"Not bad, huh?"

We headed to the elevatore and took it up the the cliffs which once housed Operation Mi'ihen. I felt the fear lacing through me as I remembered that fateful day, and the thousands of people who died because they were mislead by the Maesters of Yevon. It was...painful, to recall the hordes of dead bodies. The dancing that Tori had to do, the fear that I felt when I noticed Hunter's face down body, the terror and anger that raged within me when I couldn't find Tori. All of it welled up as we got off the elevator, until I thought I was going to burst.

As we stepped out onto the cliff, I noticed as Tori took in the fixed up camp and the people milling around freely. There were still remains of machina here and there, and many people would stop and do the prayor of Yevon, obviously paying homage to the many who lost their lives here.

_This is the Youth League headquarters. The Youth League was formed about a year ago, by people opposed to New Yevon. It's members claim that, in the hands of New Yevon, Spira would only repeat it's past mistakes. Their leader is a former Crusader named Carlos. Apparently, he earned quite the reputation amongst the Crusaders._

We approached the headquarters, and I noticed that almost all of the Youth League members were children and young people. It made me a little mad, that they allowed the kids to play with swords and trained them as warriors. Sin was gone. The children of Spira should be able to live their lives as kid, having fun, not wielding swords and learning to kill!

Tori took lead again and walked up the blonde woman at the front entrance to the larges pavilion. Once she saw the former High Summoner coming in her direction, a look of startled enlightenment came over her face as she smiled warmly.

"It's been too long, Lady Tori." he said with professionalism. "I am Taylor, Commander of the Youth League forces."

"It's good to see you!' Tori cried upon recognizing the former chocobo knight from two years ago.

Dustin grinned and waved as he bounced around. "Hiya!"

"I am glad to find you well. As you can see, I have joined the Youth League to aid in the fight for a new Spira. I consider it my duty. Mevyn Carlos, our leader, has been hoping for an audience with my Lady for a long time. Unfortunately, he is planning for a mission of great import and will be occupied well into the night. I am terribly sorry, but I must ask that you return another day." she said sadly.

Shaking her head, Tori offered her a small smile. "Oh, no problem." she agreed.

"My apologies." she stated again with a bow.

Dustin looked around at the people hustling about and tilted his head. "The Youth League's looking for spheres too, right?"

"Yes." Taylor agreed with a nod. " 'Knowledge of the past is the key to the future'." she recited. "So says the meyvn. It is with these words in mind, that we seek the spheres of yore. The mission we are planning also revolves around a sphere, but...I am sorry. I had best say no more. It is not a matter to be discussed openly."

Cassie frowned suspiciously and narrowed her eyes. "No. I suppose not." she agreed, though there was hidden venom in her voice, and I once again found myself wondering what happened to make her so jaded.

"My apologies." Taylor repeated from ealier.

We left right away and headed back to the entrance to the path. Tori walked straight over to Cole, who stood on the edge of the cliff with a miserable look on his face, and he turned to look at her.

"That's it!" he snapped, startling all of us with the sudden comment. "Everytime I try something new, I screw it up! I just don't know what to do with my life! I don't know where I belong! I've spent my life drifting from one failure to the next, but I can't keep doing this forever! I know there's a place for everyone in this world! Please, Lady Tori, let me come aboard your airship!" he broke down pleading. "I want to find my place!"

Nodding sympathetically, she smiled. "The more, the merrier!" she agreed.

Oh thank you, Lady Tori!" he cried as he ran off to board the airship.

There was no doubt in my mind, this trip was going to be...interesting, to say the least.

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A little more depth to Cassie...I hope.

There's a lot of explanations coming up in the fic. Explanations to why Cassie is the way she is, who Carlos is, why she acted the way she did, and more...

Just as a reminder, anything written with _italic and underline_ is Tori's narrative.

Final Fantasy X, was done mostly in Tidus's POV, thus I made it mostly in Blake's...Final Fantasy X-2 is mostly in Yuna's POV, thus I'm trying to make it mostly Tori's. I'm also trying to add chaptersin with Blake's thoughts, to let you know what he's thinking, and third person POVs to add a little variety.

If you have questions, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer. If I don't know the answers, I'll give you my thoughts, but otherwise, I hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you. :)

Tenshi


	9. Djose and Bikanel

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Marah - Gippal Syd - Nahdala

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(Djose, Tori's POV)

Heading to Djose, we walked along the rocky path, over the bridges that crossed over the flowing river below. Looking up at the temple, I was surprised that the rocks still floated around the building, seeing as how the Aeons no longer existed and were no longer prayed to.

_After we defeated Sin, people began distancing themselves from the temples. For a long time, Djose Temple was neglected as well, but now..._

People milled around, most of them being Al Bhed. I noticed a line-up of people next to what used to be a store, and as we approached, everyone stopped and stared, making me take a step back out of nervousness. I know I should've gotten used to it by now, but sometimes, the attention was still too much.

"Everyone's staring." I muttered as I stood beside Blake. He put a comforting ahdn around my waist, and the people began buzzing with whispers, and I felt my face heat up, knowing exactly what they were talking about.

Me.

Their High Summoner and her beau.

Dustin chuckled and shook his head as I looked at him. "You're famous, Tori. Better get used to it." he said with a crooked grin.

"All I want's some peace and quiet!" I whined as I leaned into Blake's hold.

Looking at Cassie, Dustin shook his head and mock pouted. "Poor thing. She's led such a sheltered life." he said in a mock innocent voice.

Smirking at him, Cassie folded her arms over her chest. "Maybe she's getting old." she responded.

I felt my eyes widen and face heat up as I spun around. "Who's getting old?" I snapped back as I turned my back to them and stomped angrily towards the temple. _The nerve!_ I thought. Suddenly feeling a presence behind me, I slowly stopped and turned around, noticing a young woman brush past me. She had long brown hair that was back in a lose braid, and snug fitting blue jeans over black boots, and a tank top in pale violet.

When she turned around, I noticed her light blue eyes and cocky smirk and felt myself frown as I took in her obvious attitude.

Dustin ran up to my side with a wary look in his eyes. "That's Marah, leader of the Machine Faction. She can be kind of annoying, but she's all right." he said with slight affection in his voice.

Not that I _needed_ an introduction. I mean, even two years off earth, I still remembered Lothor's nieces and the local pains in our butts. One was Kapri and the other, her sister Marah. So Marah was a _leader_ of a _powerful_ faction here? She sure seemed human enough, but to be perfectly honest, I didn't know how I should feel about that. I felt someone take my hand and turned to see Blake looking at her warily as he squeezed my hand firmly. It was obvious, he didn't trust her either.

Putting a hand on her hip, she tilted her head a bit. "Let's do some interviews! Bring it!" she called as she waved her hand, signalling the people to get moving.

I giggled at the attitude and sighed. "Yeah, she seems all right." I said lightly.

We went around to the different people, finding out what was going on, and found out Marah was holding interviews for whoever wanted to dig in Bikanel Desert. Apparently, they were building a giant machina experiment, and needed the parts found, but not enough Al Bhed were left out there to dig alone. There was a small salary of 100 gil per successful dig, and it rose whenever you completed ten digs.

Other than the parts, it was also rumored that many lost treasures lay in those sands. I heard, there was a game called Sphere Break starting up in Luca that involved these neat looking gold coins with the images of fiends on them. They were apparently worth a lot.

But...when I asked what sphere break was, I got jumbled answers and couldn't figure it out. Deciding to put that aside, I figured we might as well sign up. We can help the Al Bhed with their digging and battle fiends at the same time to build our strength, and we could take the treasures and sell a lot of them.

So gathering everyone up, we went into the small building next to the temple and I filled out a form to go to the interview. We were ushered into the temple right away, where Marah was seen talking to a couple of Al Bhed men.

"E ryja ymnayto ehdanjeafat people. (I have already interviewed people)" she stated with annoyance to the man in front of her. "Uha uv oui kioc dyga ujan. (One of you guys take over.)"

One of the men looked past her and saw us standing at the door. "Marah!" he called, and she spun around in surprise

"Huh?" she asked as she walked over to us. She looked at me closely before leaning forward and getting right into Blake's face.

His eyes widened and he hastily pulled back, and I curled my hands into fists as I raised an eyebrow and bit back my glare into a cool gaze. "Hello." I said, forcing my voice to stay sweet.

Looking at me, Marah nodded and eyed me carefully. "You, uh, here for an interview?"

"Yes." I stated firmly with a nod.

She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "The great High Summoner wants an interview?" she repeated in a cocky voice.

Putting my hands on my hips, I leaned back at the waist a bit and glared openly at her. "_Former_ Summoner!"

"Hm, all right. Follow me." she stated with a shrug as she walked out the door.

Walking out after her, we followed her out to the bridges where she decided to stop. She walked right over to me and leaned in close, making me lean back as I watched her warily. "Never been this close to a celebrity before." she said quietly as she checked me out.

Feeling really uncomfortable and more than a little violated, I took a step back and tilted my head. "That's nice." I stated in a bored tone, hopefully letting her know I wasn't interested.

She backed off and crossed her arms over her chest as she watched me with a smirk. "I could get used to this."

Shaking my head, I narrowed my eyes at her and purposely took Blake's hand. "Let's not." I said as I raised both my eyebrows.

Turning her head, she noticed Dustin standing beside Blake and turned to Blake first, purposely and clearly ignoring Dustin. "And you are...?"

"Blake Bradley." he said lowly as he stared at her.

Her eyes widened and she looked between us before her smug expression came back. "So...you're the one who helped Lady Tori defeat Sin two years ago. I _thought_ I heard rumors of a Lord Blake who was also a Summoner, travelling with her."

I rolled my eyes and Marah turned her attention to Dustin, where her smirk became almost...affectionate. "Well, well. If it isn't Cid's little boy." she put in.

Dustin blushed and glared mildly at her. "I have a name you know!" he whined.

"Heh. Brother doin' ok?" she asked curiously.

He nodded and shrugged, swinging his arms a little. "Same as ever. Adam's around too."

"'Same as ever' is right." Marah muttered under her breath as she turned aroun, stopping cold when her gaze settled on Cassie. She almost ran forward and pointed in the asian woman's face. "Y-You!" she cried.

I shot Blake a glance of confusion and he returned it with one of minor suspicion. As little as I knew about Cassie, I knew Marah's reaction showed that she knew her at some point, or maybe, she knew someone who looked like her. I wasn't sure.

"Cassie." she introduced herself. Marah dudn't back off and she glared at the girl. "We're here for the interview?" she reminded her.

Nodding absently, Marah shook her head and turned around. "Right...the interveiw." Turning around she shrugged. "You sure you wanna dig? We're talkin' the desert here...not exactly a picnic people."

"We're sure." I responded firmly.

"All right, you're hired."

Doing a double take, I gaped a moment. "Hu-What?" _Did I just hear what I thought I heard?_

"You. Are. Hired." Marah repeated slower, and I raised an eyebrow at her. Scratching the back of her head, she shrugged. "Don't know why a superstar like you would want to play in the sand. Well, do what you gotta do." Raising an eyebrow, she dug in a pouch on her waist. "Anyway, I've done what I can. Dig to your heart's content."

"Umm...thanks." I muttered feeling like I'd missed something.

She pulled out a letter and handed it to me, which I immediately put in my pouch. "Give that letter to a woman named Syd. You'll find her in the desert of Bikanel. Happy digging!" With that, she turned and walked back to the temple, and we turned, heading to the nearest teleport sphere.

Oh! The teleport spheres, are what Blake used to call 'glowing' spheres. They restored you, making you feel revitalized, and can teleport you to your airship in seconds.

Using it, we boarded the Celsius and headed for Bikanel Desert. It was the only way to get there, since no ships travelled there anymore.

(Bikanel Desert)

Upon teleporting down, we found ourselves surrounded by vast, endless, _hot_ desert. Immediately we were soaked with sweat, and unfortunately, this time, there were no Aeons to keep us cool. As we looked around, I realized we had no idea where to even begin looking for the camp and I felt a little worried, seeing as ow we didn't have any bottles of water on us.

The others spread out a bit to check out the area, and I sighed as I lost myself in my thoughts.

_Bikanel Island. This is where the Al Bhed's beloved Home stood until two years ago. Most have moved on, but a handlful of Al Bhed still live here today. They say countless machina lay buried under the desert sands._

Dustin turned around and looked back with a grin as he slowly walked over. The others joined us too and he pointed his thumb to his chest. "Leave the trailblazing to me!" he stated cockily.

With a shrug and nod, we followed Dustin as he ran through the sands, climbing dunes and sliding down the other sides. He led us in one straight path for a long time, staying out of the sun when we could help it, and fighting fiends when they crossed our path.

Soon, he stopped and put a hand to his chin as he looked around. "Umm...I don't think that sand dune used to be there." he murmured out loud as he looked around. A moment later, and he pointed to the right and we followed him along another path.

We were beginning to get tired, and I trailed back a bit to run along side Blake. Taking a quick glance at him, I noticed he was sweaty and exhausted, and I bet we all looked and felt the same.

Once again, Dustin stopped and looked around, confusion burning brightly in his green eyes.

Cassie panted and looked at him with a clearly unimpressed look written across her face. "Dustin, you _do_ know the way, right?"

"Umm...Dustin? Are we in trouble?" I put in with a frown as I looked around. We must've been running for hours, but still, in every direction the sand seemed endless.

He shook his head and began running again, and rather than let him disappear and possibly get killed by a passing group of fiends, we chased after him. We climbed to the top of another dune when he collapsed onto his butt, panting and swaying from exhaustion and the heat. Behind him, I collapsed to my hands and knees as I let the sweat pour off my face and struggling to breath.

I felt a presence beside me and noticed Blake sitting crosslegged in the sand, and leaned sideways, resting my head on his shoulder.

Behind us, Cassie collapsed to her knees and groaned.

I remember, looking up in the bright sky as I felt darkness clouding my vision, and the last thing I saw was a weird, floating machina in the sky.

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When I came to, I found myself laying in a dark, cool tent and heard the sound of people milling around outside. I moved my arm slowly and felt it bump into something warm. I turned my head and saw Blake lying next to me, still out cold, but at least his body was no longer overheated.

Rolling onto my side, I curled into him and laid my head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

The sound of the tent flap moving caught my attention, and I quickly looked to see who it was. Cassie came in with a minor look of worry and offered me a small, awkward smile when she saw I was awake.

"Dustin was still conscious when the Al Bhed found us. He asked that you and Blake be left together." she explained. "We've been out of it for half a day."

With that, she nodded, turned and left the tent, giving us some privacy.

Turning back to Blake, I brushed my hand lightly through his hair, marvelling at how innocent he looked when he was resting. It was like, nothing could ever bother him at that time, and it made me hesitant to wake him, but I knew we had to get to work.

"Blake." I whispered in his ear. He shifted a bit in his sleep but otherwise didn't wake up. "Blake." I repeated a little louder.

I still got nothing and got an almost evil idea. Reaching for his sides, I began to tickle him lightly, pleased when he began to squirm and tried absently and blindly batting my hands away. I stopped long enough for him to settle down and leaned forward, kissing him lightly. Then I began my assault again, this time not letting up.

Laughter began to bubble up and his eyes shot open as he squirmed. He looked at me with laughter before his eyes darkened, and he lunged forward, reversing our positions. Now I was flat on the ground, and he was leaning over me.

Without even giving an explanation, he stuck his fingers into my sides and began tickling me mercilessly. I could only squirm and laugh as I begged him to stop, and by the time he finally did, I had tears in my eyes and a cramp in my stomach from laughing so hard. "We're...supposed to...get up." I managed to wheeze.

He blushed and leaned forward, planting a sweet, chaste kiss on my lips, which I eagerly returned. When he pulled away, he helped me to my feet and we exited the tent, no doubt, flushed and breathless.

Dustin and Cassie ran over immediately, but I glared at them and they wisely held their comments to themselves, though they didn't stop smirking.

Together, we walked over to a blonde Al Bhed man and Dustin began speedily talking to him in Al Bhed. A moment later, and he turned back to us with a frown as his shoulders sagged a bit. "He says they had to move the camp because of a sandstorm. We could've looked forever and never found it!"

A second Al Bhed came in and began speaking to the first, and Dustin turned to the conversation where his face fell even more at the news.

"What is it?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I wanted to hear the news.

He turned to us and made a face. "Sounds like there's a big sandstorm coming in. It's probably too big for the airship to handle."

In other words, we're stuck here for now.

"I guess we won't be leaving the way we came." Cassie said with a raised eyebrow.

Walking after Dustin, we went over to a woman with shoulder length, curly blonde hair and green spiraled eyes. She looked at us and raised an eyebrow as we approached. "I'm busy, so make it fast, ok? I've got lots to excavate and no one to do it!"

Dustin turned to me and nodded. "Tori, show her the letter."

Pulling the letter out of my pouch, I handed it to her and she read it quickly, nodding at the end. "So you're the new guys!"

"That's us!" Dustin cheered.

I nodded in agreement. "Nice to meet you."

Shaking her head, she put a hand on her hip and seemed to study me. "Hmm, I guess the High Summoner's hard up too. Well, don't be expecting any special treatment."

I raised an eyebrow back at her and kept my gaze cool. _Who the hell does she think she is?_ I thought angrily. Did she honestly expect me to look to be treated like royalty for who I was? "Right!" I agreed, not wanting to start a fight.

"Let's get to it then."

She introduced us to the machina I'd seen before I passed out. Apparently, it acted much like a scout for the diggers, showing them where the treasure was supposed to be, and alerting them to when their time limit was running out. That's another thing. There was a set time limit. If we spent even one second out past it, we'd collapse again. That made this a little more difficult, but we agreed none the less.

Speaking to the pilot, he took us out to a large expanse called the Western Expanse. It was the only place available to us because we were new to this, and it was just a test run.

Once there, we spread out and began following the scout to the different treasure locations. Kneeling in my spot, I dug down into the sand with my bare hands, thankful I thought to keep my orpher in my pouch, and soon found a rusted and torn piece of metal. I couldn't identify it, but as soon as I picked it up, the scout flew over, stating I had found what we were looking for.

Shaking my head, I sighed. Heading back to the hover with the others, I noticed Blake was holding two large, golden coins with wolves on either side of them, Dustin was holding two phoenix downs, and Cassie was sporting a bruised arm and foul glare.

As it turned out, not all of the marked 'treasure' spots were actually _treasure_. In Cassie's case, she got ambushed by a drake that was lying under the sand, and was too far away and busy to call for help. Luckily, she escaped with her life and got a hi-potion out of the deal. I offered her a potion to heal the bruise, but she turned it down, insisting all she needed was some rest.

We went back to the camp, where Syd waited and I handed her the machina part, which she took quickly and gave us a huge grin for. "Just what we were looking for! You did great!"

I nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

We turned to the teleport sphere, glad the storm never came by, and were about to leave when she called out to us. "Feel free to come back any time!"

With a final nod and wave goodbye, we boarded the celsius and went to our next stop, the Moonflow.

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I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of the places they go, has nothing to do with sphere hunts. Things will pick up soon, but for now, these chapters are just to reacquaint people with the places, how they've changed and the people there.

I had to edit the chapter a bit, fixing some spelling mistakes. Sorry people if my spelling seems to have gone downhill since my last fic, but I got a new chair for my computer, and it's lower, so the sun glares on the screen, making if hard to see what I'm typing. Leave a review if you notice spelling mistakes and I'll check it out and edit the chapter to finx them. Thanks. :)

I was going to make this two chapters, but then it would've been a lot shorter.

Hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	10. Moonflow to the Thunder Plains

**Disclaimer** I don't own anything.

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(Moonflow)

_Spira's landscape really hasn't changed much since then. If anything's changed, people seem to smile more often now... It's as if they finally have time to notice the beauty around them._

It was times like these, in places like this, that I truly saw just how much we've done for the people of Spira. No longer do they cower and fear every shadow, thinking Sin is coming, but now they can finally relax. Like I told them two years ago, Spira was theirs, and a lot of people seemed to be taking the most of their new found peace, enjoying this place, and others like it across Spira.

Taking Blake's hand, I held back a little, making him drop behind the others with me. He gave me a confused look, which I returned with a warm smile as I stopped by the edge of the river, looking out over the still waters littered with moonlilies.

Together, we stood by the bank of the river, clasping hands and looking out over the water. It was nice, enjoying the quiet and the faint laughter of the people around us as we took in the natural beauty.

"What'cha guys doing?"

Turning around, we noticed Dustin and Cassie behind us with warm looks on their faces and I smiled at them as I walked over. "It's nice here." I stated as I looked around, seeing the young mother with her child, smiling at the sight, a young man stood nearby, looking out over the water. A little ways away, a small, black bird-like creature was running back and forth. Well, more like wobbling. There were a couple of hypello with him and they seemed to be talking.

"What?" Dustin asked, not getting my meaning.

Shaking my head with my smile fixed firmly in place, I giggled slightly. "People are enjoying nature, it's very peaceful."

Looking around, Dustin nodded with his own smile forming. "Sure is. A lot of people are travelling these days, trying to learn more about Spira."

"Thanks to you, Tori." Cassie agreed, a small look of peace settling over her for a moment.

Blinking in surprise, I turned back to her and tilted my head. _Me?_ "I had nothing to do with it."

Laughing, Dustin ran over and pat my shoulder slightly. "Go on, give yourself a pat on the back!" he insisted firmly.

I felt my face heat up, and in some small way, knew he was right, but I didn't want to take credit for it. It wasn't just me who travelled two years ago, and it wasn't just me who defeated Sin once and for all. If my Guardians weren't going to get some credit, which they really weren't, then I didn't want it either. People saw me as the savior of Spira, like I went up against Sin all by myself and beat it with no help what-so-ever, but that wasn't true at all.

Even the Aeons weren't getting any credit, and in the end, it was them who allowed us to be rid of Sin forever, by giving up their lives.

I felt, if there was any credit to be given, that it belonged to my Guardians and the Aeons. But mostly, to Blake. He gave me the courage to go on, strength to keep going when I was afraid. His love for me inspired me to want to find another way, to want to live.

As far as I was concerned, he'd given me the best gift of all, and I'd be eternally thankful. I truly was lucky to have him.

We walked along the path until we neared the bird-like creature which ran over once he saw us.

"On this spot, I'll be directing an extrordinary show! Do, do come! Oh, and I'm Tobli. Yup, yup! It'll be plendid indeed! Mark my words! People here and there, and merriment everywhere!" he chirped excitedly.

Dustin bounced around with a smile. "Hey, that sounds like fun! Ok, well, we'll see you then!" he agreed just as excitedly.

We turned to leave when he hurriedly called us back.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I have a favor to ask of you!"

Cassie sighed nd crossed her arms. "Let's go." she stated impatiently.

"Um, ok? We are sphere hunters after all." I agreed hesitantly, though I really wanted to help him out.

Dustin nodded. "Right-o!" he put in.

Hesitating a moment, I sighed and turned around, giving in. "Oh, let's hear him out."

Cassie groaned and rolled her eyes and Dustin chuckled quietly.

"Oh, here's the thing, you see. My able assistant hasn't come back yet. From Luca of course, where else? He went to fetch some supplies, whic are vitally, crucially important! For the show, you see."

Dustin nodded. "'Go get him." right?"

"Oh, quite, quite!"

Shaking her head, Cassie rolled her eyes again. "Why ask us?"

"Because you are sphere hunters, and sphere hunters hunt spheres." he answered, lifting an arm to show a sphere in his grasp.

Dustin's eyes widened and he turned to us. "Well, that settles it." he stated.

"Right, right! It's yours if you return my assistant to me, safely of course. I'm thinking he must be over by the viscinity of Djose of course, and he's a hypello."

We rushed back in the direction of Djose, looking for a hypello and soon found him pulled off to the side of the path with a chocobo drawn wagon behind him. He saw us approaching and threw his hands up as he swayed back and forth in a panic.

"Oh, I am in trubbable!"

Giggling a little, I walked up to him and watched as he warily lowered his hands. "Are you Tobli's asisstant?"

He nodded slowly, the fear fading from his blue face. "Yesh. Are yoo friends of the chief?"

"We sure are." Dustin answered seriously. "You just sit back and let us Gullwings escort you back to Tobli."

"Oh, thank yoo!" he cheered as he gathered the reins for the chocobo.

Leading him back was a lot more eventful than we'd planned. Apparently, bandits were after his supplies, and more than once, we had to stop and fight them off. A couple of times, we almost lost some of the cargo as we chased after them, but luckily, there were four of us, so we could split up into two group. When two groups of bandits would attack, Blake and I would chase after one, and Dustin and Cassie would chase after the other.

Eventually, we made it back to Tobli with all the supplies and his hypello in one piece. To say he was pleased would've been an understatement. It was weird, I thought Dustin was the only one who could get that excited that easily, but apparently not.

"Oh, ho ho! You returned!" Tobli cried as he ran over, inspecting his asisstant and the supplies.

The hypello nodded. "Thanks to the Gullwings."

"Yup, yup! Of course, you've been most helpful! With this, the show is just a step away from being a smashing success! Here. as promised!"

Handing over the sphere, I easily recognized it as the Gun Mage Dressphere. It acted like Gunner, only allowed you to copy certain fiends' attacks, as well as scanning them for weaknesses. I quickly stuck it in an empty node on my garment grid, allowing us all to use it, and bowed in thanks to Tobli.

"It's such a good, fuzzy feeling to meet such reliable people persons such as yourselves. Yessiree."

Feeling my face heat up, I bowed even deeper. "You're very welcome!"

"Just remember, it was the Gullwings who helped you out!" Dustin cheered as he punched a fist into the air.

(Guadosalam)

After the moonflow, we came straight here. To be honest, I never imagined ever coming back to this place, as it was the start of so many problems. But...two years have passed, and Lothor was long gone, in both our worlds. I felt a little better knowing that.

_Guadosalam, home of the Guado. You remember, right? But, the Guado are no longer here. Some people think that they deserved all that happened for what they did to Spira. They have a point, but...it just seems like such a sad way to look at things._

We didn't bother to stay long, but just took the path directly to the next area, the Thunder Plains.

(Thunder Plains)

It took me a while to remember how Dustin could be so calm, and watching Blake's confused look as he watched our Al Bhed friend, I had to bite back a giggle. I knew what he was thinking. He was probably wondering how it was, Dustin wasn't jumping around or clinging to his leg in fear.

_Guess what! Dustin finally over came his fear of thunder! Know how? He told me, he once camped out here, for a week!_

Remembering our journey two years ago, I bit my lip even harder as we crossed the plains, to keep from giggling out loud. I remember feeling such turmoil over Lothor's proposal and the sphere of Jyscal. But, one look at Blake's helpless face as Dustin clung to his leg, holding him practically immobile in the middle of the endless downpour, and I forgot all my problems.

He just looked so innocent standing there, obviously wanting to pry Dustin off, but not wanting to be rude or hurt him.

As I looked up from the ground and noticed the approaching Macalania woods, I felt apprehension biting at my heels. I felt my face heat up at the memory of that scorching kiss, and also knew that...the woods weren't and never would be, the same. Blake didn't know, but I had a feeling it would hurt him when he found out.

It had hurt me the first time I heard about it, a year ago, and still hurt to this day.

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Hmmm...another chapter up.

Hope you like it.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	11. Macalania and Bevelle

**Disclaimer** : I don't own them. (runs away and cries)

**Note** : T.J. - Baralai

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(Macalania)

The once frozen forest of Macalania had changed, In two years, the brightness had faded and the icy plants had begun to droop. Also, some of the trees had faded, and some paths, disappeared.

_It's been two years since the Fayth of Macalania temple disappeared. They say it's not only affecting the lake, but the woods as well._

Two years ago, when Shiva gave her life to help us defeat Sin, her power over the woods diminished, and slowly, the woods have been fading away ever since. Chancing a glance at Blake, I noticed his confusion and sighed. It broke my heart that such a beautiful place was disappearing.

We walked through the woods, splashing through puddles that had formed from where the ice plants had melted away. It was so sad. Even the feeling of this place, which had once been fairly peaceful, was now somber.

"What happened?" Blake asked quietly as we travelled along the trees.

Turning to him, I shook my head sadly. "Shiva's gone, and so is her power over the woods. Without her, they're slowly fading away."

His look as I told him that grew only sadder and sadder. It hurt me to bring him such news, but I couldn't keep it from him either.

Soon, we came across a tall, slender humanoid bird. He wore long blue robes and played a harp. As we approached him, he played a few cords and sighed sadly as he looked around the woods. "The woods will soon be no more." he said softly as he faded away in a flash of light.

I recognized him. Bayra, one of the musicians of Macalania woods. He, like many others, lived here, but with the woods fading, his home was deteriorating, and with it, his life.

We continued on, travelling along the path we walked two years ago, until we came across another small creature. This one I couldn't describe for the life of me, but I knew it was female and played a horn. Pukutak, if I remembered right. She was short, and a sentient, friendly creature. Those like her tended to have soft voices and liked to rhyme.

"Oh me, oh my, what did you say?" she asked, not even turning to face us. It was obvious she was talking to another of her kind, since they seemed to have the ability to talk telepathically. "Don't move an inch, I'm on my way!" She hobbled up the path a bit and blew the horn softly. "These woods grow lonely day by day." she finished as she faded away in another flash of light.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, thinking of all the innocent creatures losing their homes and lives. They were kind, and amazing with their music, but lately, they've been few and far between outside of Macalania.

Heading down the path, we took a small side path to a spring, not unlike the one Blake and I had kissed at, and found another creature. This one seemed about average height, with drums hanging off the front and sides of it's green robes. This was Donga, and he had a rough voice.

"The end has come faster than I thought. What can we do? I'll be there in two shakes." Hitting the drums in sequence, he disappeared and I realized, this _was_ the sping where Blake and I kissed.

Turning to the others, I sent them a pleading glance and Dustin nodded, dragging a confused Cassie away to give Blake and I some time alone. Turning back to the water, I waded in to my knees and let my tears fall as I took in the now much smaller spring. The water was still deep enough to swim in, but the glowing orbs had disappeared and the sky darkened, dimming the romantic setting of this place a great deal.

I couldn't believe this place was fading. It was a natural beauty that all of Spira deserved to enjoy, but at the rate it was going, I seriously doubted the place would last longer than a few mor months.

Feeling arms wrap around me, I turned my head to see Blake holding me tightly and turned in his embrace to face him, burying my face in the crook of his neck and sighing contentedly as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"You know, I wish I could take this place with me." he said absently.

Pulling back a bit, I looked into his eyes and knew he was remembering the last time we were here. I felt my face heat up and shook my head a bit in embarrassment. Feeling a hand on my chin, I looked up again, only have have his lips meet mine.

Giving in to the kiss immediately, I closed my eyes and leaned into his embrace, getting lost in the sensation. It was like everytthing faded away as we stood there, kissing, and only we remained.

As we finally pulled away, I noticed crystaline leaves falling all around us in a faint breeze and smiled, loving how carefree and at peace I felt at the moment.

Sadly though, it couldn't last, and as we hesitantly pulled apart, Cassie came stomping back, only to stop and look slightly sheepish as she saw us. She didn't know the significance of this place for us, so she couldn't have known why Dustin pulled her away so quickly, and judging by the look on her face, he didn't explain either.

Reluctantly, we continued our trek, heading back to the spring Cam had opened up two years ago, and seeing Guado there. Blake froze for a moment, but I put a hand on his shoulder and shook my head, and he relaxed. We walked forward, passing two Guados and soon happened upon Tromell, who was standing where the spheremorph was two years ago.

When I approached him, he gave me a sad smile. "Oh, High Summoner Tori. Forgive me for the grief I have caused you." he pleaded, bowing deeply before sighing and turning away.

I stayed there a moment, trying to think of something to say. To be honest, as much 'grief' as he caused me, I knew it was because he was under the 'leadership' of Lothor, and didn't know any better.

"With Lord Lothor gone, we Guado are hardly different from the dead." He sighed and kept looking at the large crystal tree in front of him, staring at the faded beauty of the plant. "Many Ronso lost their lives at the hands of Lord Lothor. Those who survived sword vengence for their fallen comrades. We Guado sealed ourselves away in Guadosalam for so long, and sealed our defences... But soon we no longer even had the strength for this. Now, we live among the shoadows of these woods."

"Tromell..." How could I reassure him that it wasn't his fault. It was Lothor who killed the Ronso, not the Guado in general. Still, I knew the Ronso would _not_ be easy to appease.

"High Summoner, do not trouble yourself to show pity for the Guado. We once walked willingly with Lord Lothor, never questioning, even as he led all Spira into madness. Lady Tori, I cannot ask that you forgive us...only that you forget us..."

I shook my head, not wanting to listen to these words. In two years, the Guado had changed, condemning themselves for past mistakes and thinking everyone hated them. Well, sadly, for the most part, they were right. Many Spirans and Al Bhed hated them for what happened, but also, in two years time, many had gotten over that. The Al Bhed were still iffy, after what happened to their beloved Home, but they were willing to move past this. Unfortunately, the Guado seemed intent on dwelling on it.

"Ah, well, what brings the High Summoner to these woods?" Finally, he turned around and faced me, taking a second glance at Blake and blinknig a moment before turning back.

I tilted my head a bit and clasped my hands behind my back. "Well, I'm a sphere hunter now." I explained.

"Hm, a sphere hunter?" It was obvious, he didn't know what that meant.

A problem, Dustin was only too eager to remedy. "We hunt spheres."

Personally, I thought the name was pretty self explanatory, but then again, some people needed the obvious stated.

"You don't say..." Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a brightly shining orange sphere and handed it to me easily, much to my surprise. "Well, then, please allow me to give you this. It is of no use to us."

"Score!" Dustin cried excitedly.

"Thank you!" I cheered as I gratefully accepted the sphere. Holding it in my hands, I saw why it was 'of no use' to them. It was one of a few rare dresspheres. This one held no power in my hands, showing that I couldn't use it, but someone could.

Turning, I handed it to Dustin, who shook his head, and then to Cassie, who nodded slowly. "Full Throttle." she said quietly as she attached it to her Garment Grid.

It was amazing how spheres the size of softballs could shrink to the size of peas in the Garment Grid. That was another thing I didn't understand and chose not to question. It turned out, that sphere was Cassie's special sphere, called Full Throttle, and only she could use it.

There were few, very rare dresspheres that only one person could bond with. I think...it was because the power was so great in them, that they easily overloaded Garment Grids, and only certain people had the strength to use them.

As we left the spring, I took a glance toward where the temple used to be. I say 'used to be' because shortly after Sin's defeat, the ice thawed a great deal and the temple sank to the bottom of the lake. Now, the lake was no longer frozen, and people could no longer travel past the agency in the area. And sadly, the agency wasn't getting any customers because no one ever went in that direction.

Leaving Macalania woods, I dreaded our next stop. If all went well, we could be in and out in a matter of minutes, but when it came to Bevelle, when has anything ever gone well?

(Bevelle)

_Bevelle remains the heart of Spira, even today. It's also the place where I was born. I suppose that makes it my hometown, but I can't say I have a lot of fond memories here..._

Shaking my head a little as we trudged up the highbridge, I frowned. Again, Spiran Tori's thoughts were mixing with my own. Bevelle wasn't _my_ hometown, but hers. I felt her anxiety as we made it into the town and passed priests working for the temple. They bowed to us in the Yevon way and it brought a shiver up my spine, making me feel like we were back in the past.

Her fears...She was afraid. Afraid of meeting with the leader of Bevelle, a man that she was set up with so many years ago. No one knew about it, as she never told anyone, and I certainly didn't want to think about it, let alone _talk_ about it. Still, I feared what would happen.

What if he saw me and mentioned it? What if he wanted to go through with it?

I couldn't, and I think, that's part of the reason I was afraid.

As we approached the main gate to the temple, an older man turned to us and bowed deeply with wide eyes. "Oh, High Summoner! I see you've finally decided to join New Yevon!"

_Says who?_ I thought darkly, refusing to aknowledge what he said as he continued.

"You do us such honour My Lady. Lord Braska, may he rest in peace, would be proud."

Actually, I begged to differ. He might not have been _my_ father, but I knew enough about him to know he'd never want this. It angered me that this man presumed so much.

"I will summon the Praetor immediately. I beg your leave."

Without even waiting for a word from me, he pushed into the temple and left us there.

Frowning, I turned my back to the group and clenched my fists at my side. I really didn't want to be here, or do this. I wanted to run as far as I could. He angered me, but the thought of meeting the Praetor, and what he might have to say to me, frightened me greatly.

"Pushy, isn't he?" Dustin asked with an unhappy voice. It was bordering on being angry and amused, but leaning more towards angry..

Shaking my head, I quickly turned around. "We should leave!" I stated, beginning to panic a little. I struggled to stay calm, but I _really_ didn't want to be here.

Looking at me intently, Dustin frowned. "What's wrong?

Biting my bottom lip, I was aware of Blake moving to stand beside me and shifted nervously. _Ah, hell!_ "Well, you see, there was this arrangement...with the son of the chairman." I noticed their looks and shook my head quickly, raising my hands to ward off their comments. "I turned the offer down! But...I thought it might get kinda awkward."

"Tori? Hmmm?" Dustin teased, until he saw my serious face and gave a sheepish smile.

Cassie shook her own head and dropped her arms to her side as she took a step towards the path back out of Bevelle. "You're probably right. Let's go."

I was thankful that she understood, but my smile froze in it's place when I noticed her own discomfort for being here. Something about this place bothered her, and I realized that, this was the third time I've seen her like this. The first was at Mushroom Rock, at the Youth League headquarters, the second at Djose and now here. Just why was she so uncomfortable?

Apparently, I took too long to think, and before we could leave, the large double doors of the temple opened up, revealing a bald-headed black man dressed in red robes. He walked forward with a kind smile and performed a prayor of Yevon for me, as I took a step back nervously.

I felt Blake gripping my hand and relaxed a little, knowing he wouldn't let anything happen to me, but being near this man still set me on edge.

"A pleasure, Lady Tori. I am T.J., Praetor of New Yevon" he greeted formally.

"So you're the chairman's son?" Dustin asked curiously as he checked out the man in front of us.

I felt my face heat up and wanted to hit him for that comment. What a way to bring up something I _didn't_ want to talk about!

"Ah. As it happens, the chairman has recently retired, along with his son, the Praetor." he said in a deep, kind voice. Smiling, I noticed he seemed to be trying not to laugh and blushed deeper. "They were trying to take too much power. We had to ask them to leave. Now the younger members run the party, by mutual consensus of course."

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips as I bowed. "I'm sorry." I stated, realizing too late just how fake it sounded.

He chuckled a little and bowed his head. "So you see, Lady Tori...It is not I that was meant to marry the High Summoner." he added.

I felt my eyes widen and brought a hand to my mouth as my blush deepend even more. "Uhh..." _Shit._ was all I could think, realizing he knew exactly why I was acting the way I was.

"Not that we wouldn't appreciate the support." he hurriedly corrected, his look turning concerned that maybe he might have offended me. "On the contrary, you'd be most welcome. I understand if your feelings towards Yevon are mixed."

_Oh you have _no_ idea!_ I thought darkly desperately trying not to remember the forced wedding that almost took place here two years ago, and the fact that Sin used this place as a perch in his assault on Spira.

"But I would hope that you could put that aside and join our cause. The world is changing, and there are many who are finding it difficult to keep up. New Yevon wishes to help those who feel lost in the winds of change. If you'll excuse me, there are matters whic require my attention." He turned to leave and paused, turning back to look me in the eyes. "Oh, and if you should come across any spheres documenting Spira's history, please do let us know."

With that, he turned and walked back into the building. I felt a little put out that he'd so easily assume that I was going to join them right away. He even had the _audacity_ to _request_ that we tell him if we find any important spheres?

Dustin walked up beside me and shot me a crooked grin. "Oooh! So, what do you think?"

I wasn't even paying attention, but got what he was saying. "Not my type. Besides, Blake's way hotter." I answered out loud, realizing too late, what I'd just said. I felt my face heat up, I slowly turned around as my eyes widened. I met with a laugh from Dustin, a smirk from Cassie and a surprised, yet pleased and smug smile from Blake.

Don't you think it's funny how the earth never opens up and swallows you whole, just when you want it to?

"I think I've heard enough." Cassie put in as she crossed her arms over her chest. Raising her eyebrow, she gestured to the path. "What now?"

Shaking out of my embarrassment, I turned and walked quickly down the path, back out of Bevelle and practically raced to the Calm Lands, hoping that they'd take the hint and drop my comment. Still, I knew Blake would bug me about it for a while. And...as embarrassed as I was for saying it out loud, I didn't take it back.

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LOL. Talk about humiliation. I'd die of embarrassment if I ever said that out loud about a guy I liked...right in front of him. OMG! Poor Tori.

Hope you like this. :)

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	12. Calm Lands to Zanarkand

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Sorry for the long update. I got distracted playing games in facebook. LOL. Here's the next chapter, and things should pick up a little from here. The story of Final Fantasy X-2, or the game rather, is set in 5 chapters. So far, these past chapters have only been for chapter 1. After this chapter, should be one more, and then chapter 2 should start...as well as the real action.

Sorry if the first chapters were boring. As I mentioned, they were more to familiarize people with the places and people of Spira. New people have been introduced, and old ones brought back.

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(Calm Lands.)

_The Calm Lands. Many Summoners used to cross these plains, their hearts heavy with the weight of their pilgrimage. I was no different. But, the Calm Lands we knew, have changed._

Looking out over the vast plain, it was easy to see that the ground was greener, and games had been put out there. No longer did fiends roam the plains freely, but many were either killed of captured.

As I looked past the plains, to the mountain of Gagazet, I frowned as a shiver ran down my spine. I stil vividly reacalled our meeting with the Ronso two years ago, and how Lothor had killed them. I felt a little...uneasy, about crossing the mountain where so many souls angrily roamed.

"Oooh, I love these games!" Dustin cried as he ran up beside me.

Lookig at him I watched him dance around the edge as he looked from one to the next. I knew that games had been put out here, but otherwise, I knew next to nothing about them.

Cassie walked up beside him and threw him a raised eyebrow as she cross her arms. "I have a hundred Argent credits." she put in lazily.

I felt my eyes narrow as I listened to them. Argent credits? Cassie played the games? Dealing the ever almost always deadly serious warrior, I was shocked to hear as much from her.

"Well I have a hundred Open Air credits." Dustin shot back.

Turning to him, I shook my head and cast a quick glance to Blake who was scratching the back of his head with a confused look. Turning back to the nearly arguing duo, I raised an eyebrow and put a hand on my hips. "Open-Air what?"

"Well..." Dustin dragged us down to the nearest game. Something called Lupine run, where wolf fiends were raced against each other. It was my job to bet on who'd win and if I got it right, I won more credits, which could be turned in for prizes, but if I lost, I lost credits.

It sounded a bit too much like gambling and decided not to do it. Talking to one of the attendants, I found out there was a battle going on between the two companies because apparently they each thought they were the most popular. So, scouts had been sent all over Spira to try and recruit people for the games.

Bidding the attendant a polite farewell, I walked away and shook my head as we crossed the plains, heading for Mt. Gagazet.

(Mt. Gagazet, Normal POV)

No, not _all_ the Ronso were dead. Apparently, some were badly injured, and then, there were Ronso who were out seeing the world and hadn't been there during the attack. There were a lot less, but they had survived. Sadly, now they had taken to looking for revenge over the Guado for killing so many of their kind.

Kelk's horn had broken off during the battle, it appeared, and many Ronso had a hard time accepting his leadership because of it. It kind of disgusted Tori, the way they constantly played the game of 'who's horn's the biggest?'. Kelk had proven his strength to the others, and they slowly began to accept him, but a few still had problems.

And Kelk, was the only Ronso who didn't want to fight the Guado.

_It seems so much quieter now. Maybe...because Summoners no longer come here to climb the sacred mountain._

As the Maesters of Yevon no longer existed, Kelk had taken to being called by his first name, and seemed to have taken to living like anyone else.

"Kelk!" Tori cried as the group approached, happy to see that He was well.

He gave a Ronso fangy smile and nodded. "Tori look well. Kelk glad."

Dustin grinned and nodded. "How you doing? What's it like being elder?"

Sighing heavily, Kelke shook his head and his face grew clouded. "Elder's job difficult. Kelk troubled."

Tori was about to ask what was wrong, when a cry caused her and the others to turn quickly, and a large Ronso jumped off a small cliff, landing with a thud. He strolled over to Kelk and sneered in his face. "Elder." he spat, with obvious distaste. "Lian and Ayde not here! Children have left mountain to find Elder's lost horn!" Shaking his head, he growled and took a step past the Ronso Elder.

"What's going on?" Tori questioned quietly, not wanting to really get involved in their problems, but at the same time, unable to help herself.

"Lian and Ayde still pups, but bear Ronso future. Say they search for way to fix Elder Kelk's broken horn."

The other Ronso snorted. "If Kelk act like true leader, these things not happen."

"Maybe so." Kelk agreed sadly.

"Kelk..." Dustin muttered sadly.

The second Ronso was about to walk away but turned his head to regard Tori, which made Blake a little uncomfortable and he walked to her side. "High Summoner, it is Garik's honour."

"Nice to meet you." she answered politely.

Shaking his head, he sighed loudly. "Garik know Lady Tori save Spira, but Ronso not saved yet."

Taking the hint, she nodded. "Ummm...We'll take care of Lian and Ayde." she offered hesitantly.

He grunted his aknowledgement and walked away, making the group more than a little uneasy. They weren't sure if it was a grunt of approval, disapproval, disbelief or what.

Turning to Kelk, he nodded slowly. "Kelk worried about Lian and Ayde, but Kelk cannot leave mountain. If Tori find pups, bring them back to Gagazet." he requested.

With a nod, Tori and the others continued on, heading to their final Stop and the place where the second sphere was said to have been located.

Zanarkand Ruins.

(Zanarkand, Tori's POV)

As we walked towards the remains of the campfire, I frowned and looked around. I was not at all pleased to see what I was seeing.

_This is where we sat that night, the six of us. I've never talked about it. I didn't want to share my memories. I wanted to keep that feeling, this place, inside of me forever. Now look at it..._

Tourists.

People smiling and laughing as they took in the once sacred ruins of Zanarkand, the ancient city of the dead. They desecrated it. It was so awesul to see people walking freely, having no respect for the battles once fought here, and the lives that were sacrificed.

"A tourist attraction." Cassie muttred with a shake of her head, clearly not impressed.

Dustin looked as horrified as I felt as he looked around wildly. "Who's idea was this?"

Looking over to a small hill, I noticed an all too familiar ex-Summoner and walked over with the others behind me. I'd noticed Blake was acting pretty subdued, but I think it was from remembering what happened here. This was...so very close to the end of our journey two years ago. It was kind of disturbing to me too.

Walking up to the ex-Summoner, he slowly turned around and his confused expression lit up into one of joy. "Tori? You've changed so much, I hardly recognized you. Remember me?"

How could I not? His hair was a little longer but otherwise, he still reminded me of the Summoner who challenged me to a 'race' two years ago in Djose temple. "Of course I remember! It's good to see you again, Billy."

At least, it was a relief to see he was alive and well. It made me wonder just why Jason wouldn't talk about him. Maybe...Jason wasn't happy with something he did? I wanted to ask him, but felt worried he'd react the same and close up.

"I'm honoured that you remember me." he said softly with a bow and smile.

I felt my eyes narrow as I watched him. "What're you doing here?" Why was it, I had a feeling her was more than _just_ a tourist here?

His smile grew, even as it grew a little nervous. "Ah, yes, I am helping Cid with his work here."

I felt my head spin to Dustin who raised his hands defensively and shook his head violently, a wild look crossing his face. "Don't look at me!" he insisted.

I think Billy was ignoring him in favor of continuing his sales pitch. "I guide people through Zanarkand, once the most sacred of places. People come from all over Spira. Sphere hunters too."

Feeling my heart drop, I realized just how much this place changed. I wasn't so much disappointed and hurt that the sphere might have already been found, as I was by the sight of all these people so carelessly trampling sacred ground. And Cid did this? "Oh." I muttered, looking towards the campfire we sat at two years ago, and seeing people sitting all around it and laughing. It felt like my meories were being...I don't know, tainted? It didn't feel good.

"What is pop thinknig?" Dustin groaned as he looked around in disgust.

Billy's smile dropped and he tilted his head slightly with a sigh. "I can see that this is upsetting you, but this place is of great historical importance to all of Spira."

"I know." I admitted reluctantly as I looked to the ground. "It's just...I never wanted anyone else to sit there."

I realized just how selfish that sounded, but that place held important memories to me.

"Tori?"

Realizing Billy hadn't heard me, I shook my head quickly and offered a fake smile. "Nothing. Forget it."

He nodded slowly and looked away to where a group of people had gathered. "If you say so...Ah, if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back to work. Please, take care, Tori."

Bidding a hasty farewell, he took off towards the people and began chatting excitedly, leaving me to wallow in my sorrow.

Blake came over and wrapped his arms around my waist, giving me a concerned look and I leaned into his touch. Having him there made me realize that even if things change, like my memories of certain places on Spira, that he was there. It was enough to make me smile, really smile, and continue on.

We headed along the path, avoiding the many people there, and towards the dome that led to the main temple. Just outside it I saw another familiar face and bit my lip as I giggled silently.

"Taro, Hana, you ready?" he asked with a grin and the two children, dressed like warriors, nodded as they stepped closer to him.

Taro, a little boy with a helmet that kept falling over his eyes, frowned a little as he tilted his head and looked at the others. "Ummm...what was the password again?"

The little girl, Hana, sighed and put her hands on her hips. She also wore a helmet but at least for her, it seemed to fit better. "Come one! It's 'key'!" she whined.

Nodding a little, though looking a little unimpressed by Hana's attitude, Rocky turned to the dome. "All right then. Let's go!"

The three of them ran into the dome and I let out my laugh. I wasn't sure if they were really a team, or if Rocky was playing babysitter or something, but it was kind of cute to watch them.

Shaking my head, I turned to the others and gestured with my head to head into the dome. We walked along a small path a bit, ignoring the few pyreflies that floated across the vast room, and soon found the trio again.

"Which way?" Taro asked, obviously clueless.

"That way!: Rocky cried with a grin.

Nodding, Hana jumped a little in excitement. "Yes!"

They raced off down the path and I got a little worried. I wasn't sure about Rocky, but I feared for the children. There were fiends in here and I didn't know if they were safe or not.

"Should we follow them?" Blake asked quietly, and I nodded. They were going in the same direction anyway, so I didn't see the harm in keeping an eye on them.

Walking along the path, we soon rounded a corner to find the trio standing on the path over the form of a fallen fiend, grinning triumphantly. I blinked in surprise as we approached and noticed it was a weak fiend, not making me feel much better about them being here.

Rocky spun around upon hearing our footsteps and his eyes widened as he saw us. He grinned and ran over, acting like an excited child. "Lady Tori! Do you remember me?"

Nodding, I grinned and knelt down to face the children. Looking up at him I raised an eyebrow. "Sure I do! You're Rocky!"

He cheered and jumped a bit in excitement. "You remembered me!" Pointing to the somewhat bashful little boy, he nodded. "This is Taro..." He then pointed to the girl who waved with a huge grin. "And this is Hana."

"Nice to meet'cha Lady Tori." Taro greeted politely.

Frowning a little i watched as a floating eye feind floated by some ways away, apparently not having noticed us. "What are you doing here? There's fiends around!" I scolded, narrowing my eyes at the children.

Hana snorted and shook her head. "Fiends? Ha!" she replied almost haughtily.

Raising my eyebrow, I stood back up.

Rocky grinned and nodded at Hana. "Uh-huh. That's right! We're sphere hunters!"

Together, Rocky and Hana did an almosst cute pose as they cried, "The Kinderguardians!"

Taro took up the rear, being really out of sinc with them, and finished. "The Kinderguardians!" he cried as he did another pose.

To me, it almost looked like a dysfunctional family, with Rocky being the big brother. I had to clench my hands behind my back and bite my lip hard to keep from laughing at how funny they looked, and hearing quiet chuckling behind me, I knew Blake was failing miserably at trying to look serious.

Dustin tilted his head, fully serious and put a hand to his chin as he regarded the trio in front of him. "You here for some kind of sphere hunt?" he asked curiously.

I felt my eyes widen as I figured it out. "So 'key' must be a clue to finding the treasure."

"Uh-huh. That's right." Rocky agreed.

Hana's eyes widened and she put her hand to her lips. "Shhhhh!" she scolded. "We paid fifteen whole gil for that! Come one, let's go!" she insisted.

Running a head a ways. Rocky turned back and waved at us. "See ya Lady Tori!" he called before racing off with his friends.

Cassie raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fifteen gil, for a clue?" She didn't sound impressed.

Shaking my head, I followed the way they went, rounding the corner to climb the path that led over where we just stood. To my surprise, one of Cassidy's goons stood up there, his back to us.

"Come in. Come in. Do you read me?" He had his hand raised to his masked face and seemed to be trying to raise someone on a com system similar to ours. He must've got a response, because his body posture suddenly relaxed. "I wanted to double check that clue. It's 'mon', right?"

I clasped my hands behind my back as I listened.

He shook his head and laughed. "Nah. It's just I heard some kids say it was 'key'." Laughing again, he shook his head. "Yeah, I figured it was 'mon'. Over and out." Lowering his hand from his face, hesighed.

Cassie frowned a little as she put a hand to her chin. "The clues are 'key' and 'mon'?" she asked out loud.

The goon spun around in shock and stared at us, and a monkey came running over to stand by his feet. "Wha...? The Gullwings?" he cried in disbelief.

I knew I should've known this. It seemed simple enough, but for some reason, the answer escaped me. "Key-mon?" I tried hesitantly, frowning at the fact that it somehow didn't sound right.

Dustin clapped his hands together and turned to us with a triumphant grin on his face. "Monkey!" he cried.

The monkey tittered a bit before running off and the goon growled quietly. "We won't let you off so easily this time!" he cried as he rushed forward.

Suddenly, two more goons came rushing over and we quickly armed ourselves. Blake was still in his Thief, so grabbing his daggers, he took on two of the goons at once, distracting them so we could fight them.

Dustin rushed the third with Cassie, both attacking with their weapons, and I aimed for one of the goons around Blake. Trying to get one in my sights, I groaned in frustration when they kept moving back and forth. I didn't want to take a shot, because I was worried about hitting Blake, so instead, I hit a button on my Garment Grid and raised my arms over my head.

Crossing my wrists, I let the lone gun I was holding, drop, and halfway down, it glowed brightly, disappearing in a flash of light. The light surrounded me, blocking out everything but a glowing pillar of light, and I felt myself turning in the air as my Gunner outfit was replaced with the tight leather of my Warrior.

Grabbing the red bladed sword, I landed and took up a defensive stance, waiting for my opportune moment to attack.

I was wearing a tight, light blue halter top made of leather, with wrist length black leather gloves, and tight, black leather pants over black leather boots.

As I saw one of the weakened goons stumbling my way, I ran forward and slashed visciously at him, knocking him to his knees where he hit the ground and lay unmoving.

Blake had just finished off the second, and stopped to stare at me, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping. I felt my face heat up under his scrutiny and looked towards the third goon as Cassie and Dustin finally finished him off.

Feeling a set of arms wrap around my waist, I jumped a little and turned to see Blake looking at me with an unreadable look in his eyes and a smirk on his face. Leaning forward, he kissed me deeply, and as he pulled back, he whispered to me so only I would hear him. "Nice outfit. I think this is my favorite so far."

Blushing deeply, I giggled and pulled away with a shake of my head. Smiling at Blake, I sheathed my sword on my back and walked down the path, making sure to swing my hips just a _little_ bit more than usual, knowing I would get his attention.

Heading into the next section, I noticed a monkey sitting next to another, making high pitched chittering sounds and bouncing around. I couldn't help but giggle at how cute it was.

We left down the elevator, and soon entered what used to be the Chamber of the Fayth, where Lord Bradley's statue once stood. In there, two men stood. One I couldn't identify, but the other was Cid, the leader of the Al Bhed and Spiran Tori's unlce.

He turned around and grinned at us. "Welcome!" Taking a second glance, his jaw dropped as he took in my leather Warrior outfit and he blinked in shock a moment. "Well I'll be!" he stated in a slightly strained voice. Shaking his head, he smiled warmly, though his eyes still looked a little uneasy. "If it ain't little Tori! Come to buy a clue from uncle Cid, have you?" he put in cheerily

Frowning, I shook my head. 'buy a clue'? Was that really all he could think of?

It seemed, Dustin felt the same way. "Fryd yna oui drehgehk! (What are you thinknig!)" he yelled angrily.

Cid looked lost as he took in the less than impressed looks on all our faces. "Huh?"

"Turning this place into a gift shop? Hello!" Dustin continued, glaring openly at his father.

"What, you got a bone to pick?"

Frowning, I struggled not to strangle the man. "You bet I do!" I yelled as i felt the tears well up in my eyes.

"Well? What's eatin' ya?"

Shaking my head sadly, I looked to the ground. As much as it might have helped stop him from doing this, I still couldn't bring myself to explain. "I can't really say...but...It's just, not right!" I said firmly.

"Huh?"

I begin to wonder if that was all he could say.

"It's like us turning the remains of Home into a theme park!" Dustin cried.

Cid looked like he'd just been slapped. The color drained out of his face and his eyes widened. "Huh, you got a point," he muttered quietly as his own eyes narrows with sorrow. He shook his head and walked past us and took the elevator to the upper level.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes tightly and counted to ten. When I opened them again, I walked into the next chamber, stopping a moment to recall what happened here. Two years ago, this was where we came to get the Final Aeon. This was where Lady Victoria told me to chose who amog my friends would be the Fayth for the Final Summoning.

Even though it was so long ago, it seemed the same, all be it, there were several monkeys running around the room excitedly and many treasure chest sat waiting to be opened.

When Dustin saw them, he grinned and began dancing around, opening one after the other and reminding me of a kid in a candy store. It was funny and I couldn't help but laugh when he'd hold up two remedies or a high potion before stuffing them in his pouch and racing to the next one.

Once he gathered them all, we walked up the stairs and I took another deep breath before heading into the next room. This was the room where we fought and defeated Lady Victoria.

_Two years ago, we cast off our beliefs here. Our false hope._

As we crossed the room, a voice suddenly rang out in the emptiness. It gave a rather pathetic sounding evil laugh.

Dustin spun around and narrowed his eyes as he took in the room. "Who's there?" he cried with mild fear.

"You have done well to make it this far, sphere hunters. But you will not have the treasure you seek so easily."

Cassie grabbed her sword and prepared herself for battle. "Then we fight!" she called.

Undaunted, the voice continued. "If you want the treasure, you must speak the password!"

Slowly putting her sword back, Cassie frowned. "Password?"

"The clues?" I muttered.

Dustin's eyes went wide and he jumped a bit. "Oh, I know! The password's 'monkey'!" he cried.

The voice stuttered a bit. "Uh...yes, good! Uh, okay! So now tell me, what's the meaning of life?"

Frowning, I knew I recognized that voice. "What?" Tilting my head a bit, I peered into the darkness. "Is that you Billy?"

Dustin turned to me and put a hand to his chin. "Hey, you know, that sort of _does_ sound like Billy!"

The stuttering grew worse. "Is that your _final_ answer?" it asked in a strained tone.

Raising his fists to his chest, Dustin stomped on the ground. "The jig is up! Show yourself Billy!" he yelled.

"Uh...fine."

Billy appeared from the small staircase at the back of the room and cleared his throat as he walked over, clearly embarrassed. I realized that this, was likely the reason Jason was so unhappy with his brother.

"Umm, what're you doing?" I asked curiously.

Sighing, he shrugged and shook his head. "My job. I bring excitement to those who've come to this sacred place. I, too, once travelled with the hope of seeing this place one day. Working here somehow fulfills that wish." he answered softly.

"I see..."

"I must apologize for the quiz." he said as he bowed. Shaking his head, he put on a grin and suddenly seemed to perk up, though I think we could all tell it was forced. "'Kay! Thanks for coming! And remember, the ruins of Zanarkand will be waiting!"

With that, he left, and we all let out sighs and chuckles.

Cassie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Ex-Summoners come in all flavors." she muttered.

I couldn't help but giggle as I realized she was right. "I guess so." I replied, thinking back to the other Sumoners I met.

Kimberly was haughty and arrogant. Billy was quiet, usually. And I...I was always quiet, and the person I was supposed to be, was very innocent and naive. Then there was Lothor. He may only have had Anima, but it made him a Summoner none the less, and he was truly evil.

Dustin sighed and tilted his head back. "We done here?" he whined.

Cassie shook her head. "The sphere oscillo-finder picked up a signal. There's still a sphere nearby."

The Oscillo-finder was what we used to find traces of spheres around us. It acted like a tracker of sorts.

"Oh." I muttered, looking to the staircase Billy had come up. It led to a part of the ruins we had never been to and if I had to guess, I'd guess that the sphere was there someplace.

"Right." Dustin muttered, a little more excited.

"Ok, let's try this again." Cassie muttered.

Making our way down the new staircase, we were now in a dimly lit corridor. Glowing torches lit up the area with a faint orange glow and we could easily see that the path ahead of us was broken.

Heading to the first block, I climbed up a head of everyone else and headed down the path until I came to a broken area. Jumping down to the lower floor, I walked forward until I came to another climbing area and climbed back up.

Right in front of us was a large room with several pillars sticking out of the ground, and with a look to the others, I jumped down, making my way cautiously to the pedestal on the other side. I already knew we'd have to fight. There was always a large, powerful fiend near a sphere.

"Hey, Tor!"

Turning around, I watched as Blake walked up to me, a puzzled look in his eyes.

"You ever tried your morpher after I...uhh..." He hesitated and scratched his head as he trailed off with a shrug.

I knew what he was asking. Have I ever tried the morpher since the day he left, to go back to earth? Shaking my head, I answered 'no'. It was the truth. In all honesty, I couldn't bring myself to look at it for the longest time, because it reminded me he was gone.

"Well, why not try it now?" Shrugging again, he raised an eyebrow. "To see if it still has power."

Pulling the morpher out of my pouch, I looked at it a moment before strapping it to my wrist. It had been so long that it almost felt foreign to me, and I shuddered a bit as I lowered my arms to my side. I could easily tell it still had power in it, but also knew he needed to see for himself.

Walking up to the sphere with my friends by my side, we kept an eye out for fiends.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and the nearby wall exploded as a large fiend came through. It glared at us with red eyes and stalked forward, swaying a little as the giant dragon-like wings on it's back fluttered a little, and the tentacles on it's shoulders and back, swung around.

Dustin looked up at the huge things and his eyes widened to the point I was almost afraid they'd fall out. "Think we need a password?" he squeaked as he grabbed his daggers.

Cassie grabbed her sword and swung it over her head. "How about 'kick...it's..ass.' " she muttered with a cool glare.

Blake shot me a look and I nodded hesitantly. I was a little nervous to do this, but a part of me wanted to know if I still had the power. Sure, I felt it, but was it enough to morph?

Raising my morpher, I nodded. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! Ha!" I called.

The blinding flash of light surrounded me, and I blinked in surprise, noting that my sight was clouded darker. Raising a hand, I noticed the glove covering it and turned to see Blake smiling slightly. Pointing to his morpher, I pursed my lips behind my helmet. "Your turn." I said simply.

He frowned and shot me a confused look, reminding me that he told me he had no power anymore, but something felt different and I insisted. Pointing again, I noticed him sigh as he raised his own morpher, a slightly pained look coming over his face.

"Thunder Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" he called, and a deep navy light shot out around him, fading away to reveal his familiar navy uniform. I watched as he looked at his hands, before touching his helmeted face, and wondered where the power came from, if he really lost it on earth.

It almost felt like old times, and I felt a small smile come over my face behind my helmet.

"Umm...guys?" Dustin squeaked as he dodged a massive claw. "A little help!"

Bringing out my ninja sword, I raced forward and slashed at the gigantic fiend, Blake right behind me. We sliced it with our weapons before jumping back and out of the way of it's claws.

As it brought it's claw around, Cassie rolled forward and sliced deeply, effectly taking one claw out of the battle.

It limped back a step and Dustin raced forward, stabbing it in the eye to blind it and jumping back to let Blake and I race forward.

I slashed at it's head, only to have it's uninjured claw come swinging around and hit me, sending me flying into Blake's arms. Blushing behind my helmet, I thanked him for ctahing me as he let me down, and together, we ran forward with Cassie and Dustin.

Bringing my ninja sword in front of me, I brought my hand to the back of the hilt and powered it up. "Ninja sword, gold mode!" The blade shone a brilliant gold and I felt the power surge through it.

Beside me, Blake powered up his staff. "Thunder staff, full power!" he cried.

Swinging together, energy arced out from our weapons and shot towards the fiend in waves of light blue and deep navy. As they hit it, it let out a pained roar and collapsed to the ground, fading away into pyreflies.

Blake and I powered down, both smiling, and turned to the sphere, only to have our smiles wiped off our faces.

"What? It's only half a sphere!" Dustin whined as i picked up the broken object. It still glowed brilliantly, showing it had power, but without the other half, it was all but useless. We wouldn't be able to watch it.

"All that...for nothing." Cassie clearly wasn't happy.

Shrugging, Dustin sighed. "Well, it can't hurt to bring it with us." he offered weakly.

Turning back the way we had come, I sighed as well. "I can't believe how much this place has changed." I stated softly. _Then again, it _has_ been two years._ I finished mentally.

Taking the broken sphere, we headed back to the airship, hoping our next mission would be more worth while.

It didn't hit us how much we'd regret thinking like that.

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Sorry for the horrendously long chapter. I couldn't find the right place to break it into two without making one chapter really short.

Wow...Tori's still a Ranger and Blake has his powers back. You know, I don't know why I did that, but hey, it's cool. LOL.

Anyway, I hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	13. Kilika's 'Awesome Sphere'

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Sorry it took me so long to update, but I'm hoping to have multiple chapters for you when I do. :) I just got a new monitor, so I no longer hae to worry about it giving out on me while writing. :)

This is the Last Chapter in Chapter 1 of the Game. I hope you like it. It should reveal the tiniest bit more of the plot, NEXT chapter, and I'm hoping they'll pick up a bit for you.

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(Celsius)

When we boarded the airship and went to the bridge, the first thing I did was give the broken sphere to Ethan for safe keeping. He didn't look pleased that we were handing him a half a sphere, but humored us and put it away.

Once that was over with, I changed back into my Gunner dpressphere and we went to where Adam sat, noticing as his eyes got wide.

Brother took a look at the console and his eyes got wide as well. "Ehlusehk tydy! Gullwings, du ouin cdydeuhc! (Incoming data! Gullwings, to your stations!)"

I wondered if he was really dense enough not to have noticed we were already there.

"Rao, yfacusa! (Hey, awesome!)" Adam cried as he looked at the panel.

Dustin tilted his head. "What's awesome?"

"We're getting reports of an...'awesome sphere'? Looks like it's already drawn quite the crowd. The reports are from Kilika Woods" he informed us.

Giving an almost evil grin, I nodded. "I want that sphere!" I stated firmly.

"It's as good as ours!" Dustin agreed. "Let's scramble!"

"Who is leader? I am leader!" Brother shouted angrily. "I give the orders around here!"

"We're listening." Cassie stated in a bored tone.

"Let's go!" he cried excitedly, heading to Kilika. "Party! Party!"

(Kilika)

Entering the bustling port town, I watched as Blake's jaw dropped. There was no doubt he remembered the ruin of two years ago. It was the first time he'd seen the destruction of Sin first hand, and also, the first time he'd ever seen me dance. I never told him, but I could feel him watching me the entire time, and it gave me the strength to continue, knowing I wasn't alone.

_Can you guess where this is? It's Kilika port. The Youth League helped rebuild it. Now it's a bustling town. At the time, everyone was grateful, but lately, there have been signs of trouble. It seems that tension is building between the Youth League and New Yevon._

Watching as children ran up the new docks, ballons in hand and a lonely dog trailing after them, I smiled at the peaceful sight. Two years ago, this small town was ruined. Only a few huts remained intact after Sin's attack. Now, at least a dozen huts stood and bridges linked them together. There were outdoor stall on the wide bridges, and people leaned over to watch the water pass by peacefully under them.

There was even a ferry that gave free rides from the entrance of Kilika to the woods exit.

There remained no sign of the despair Sin had inflicted here, two years ago. No sign of the fear and sorrow. Now, it seemed this town was happy, but I knew better. An old threat had passed, only for a new one to appear. The tensions between the two factions was tearing the town and people apart.

Heading up the dock, I turned excitedly to Dustin who was dancing at my side with a grin on his face. "I wonder what this 'awesome sphere' is like." I said excitedly.

He bounced a little and waved his arms around wildly. "Well it'd definitely awesome!" he cheered.

"It will be, won't it!" I stated as he laughed and danced around and I giggled.

Cassie didn't seem to feel the same excitement, and moved past us with a lingering glare. "Keep this up, and someone else will beat us to it." she staed as she walked on.

Exchanging a glance with Dustin, he suddenly seemed worried and trailed after her, apologizing. "I'm sorry! Sorry! Hey, wait up!"

Staying behind I turned to find Blake laughing quietly and tilted my head a bit. "What's so funny?"

Shaking his head, he walked over and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. "You. You're cute when you're like that." he said before pulling away and continuing on.

Blushing, I bit my lip and trailed after him, smiling as I ran to catch up.

We walked up a ramp that led to the higher huts, when we noticed one nearby with a pink curtain over the door. Suddenly, Tommy came rushing out, almost as if he'd been thrown out and turned to the door with a heartbroken look on his face. "Kim..." he muttered sadly.

Stopping, we turned and watched as he lowered his head.

Kimberly's voice rang out from inside the hut, obviously unhappy about something. "My, my, my...Fine. Have it your way."

"Kim..." he repeated, his shoulders sagging under her words.

"Go on, leave!' she ordered.

Tears fell from his eyes as he slowly raised a hand to the door, only to let it fall back at his side. "Kimberly..." he muttered quietly, before he turned and raced off with a cry.

I felt shocked at what I'd just seen. What could've happened to break those two up? I knew Kimberly could be an arrogant, stubborn ass, but still, she loved him. It was obvious. So, why kick him out?

Walking forward, I pushed through the door and saw the all too familiar face of the ex-Summoner. She looked the same as she did two years ago, with the exception that her hair was longer, and her eyes were dark with hurt and betrayal.

Seeing me, she smirked and tilted her head. "Well, look who we have here." She noticed Blake and her smirk turned into a bitter smile.

I guessed, it hurt her to see that the man I loved came back, especially just after she chased the man she loved out the door. "It's nice to see you!" I said cheerfully, trying to keep a smile on my face.

"What's with Tommy?" Dustin asked cluelessly.

This was one of those times that I really wished he'd stop and think before talking.

Getting a pained look, she turned her gaze to the floor. "Nothing out of the ordinary." she stated with a shrug, though her voice cracked. "He is with New Yevon and I am with the Youth League. It makes living together rather difficult."

I winced slightly getting what she was saying. "But...you've been together so long..."

"To each his own." Cassie muttered with sympathy, her gaze almost knowing.

It made me feel that maybe, she knew about this type of heart break personally, and it made me all the more curious about my fellow sphere hunter and just what she was hiding.

"Exactly." Kimberly muttered with a glare. "Butt out!"

With a sigh, I waved and walked out of the hut, knowing the others would follow me. We travelled silently along the bridge leading to the gate to the woods, where two guards waited and greeted us. Letting us through, I gasped quietly at the large number of people on the other side.

"These are all sphere hunters?" I questioned incredulously.

Shaking her head, Cassie raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so."

"Look over there, who's that?" Dustin asked, poiting to a man clad in green standing in front of the group. He looked slightly asian, or perhaps mexican...and had shoulder length black hair with black eyes. He wore a green shirt with black pants, and held a cane in one hand as he limped a step closer to the group.

On closer inspection, it turned out his left arm and leg were actually machina.

He wore a small sneer on his face as he limped even closer, and I chanced a glance at Cassie who had gone pale. Her eyes were narrowed and filled with barely concealed fury, and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. She shook a little as she openly glared at the man, before a pained look came over her face and she closed her eyes tightly, obviously taking a deep breath.

Once she was done, she opened her eyes again, and had turned back into her reserved, cold self, and I vowed to find out what it was about this man that hurt her so much.

"Carlos." she said simply, her voice the same bored tone, but sounding a little strained.

Nodding, I turned to watch as he turned his back on the group and looked off into the woods. "Meyvn of the Youth League, right?"

Turning back around, Carlos began to address the crowd in a thickly accented, deep voice. "Greetings, friends! An important sphere is hidden in Kilika temple. A sphere documenting the true history of Spira. We are here today to _demand_ that New Yevon make the contents of that sphere public. Yet, as always, the voice seeking truth goes ignored." He sneered and shook his head.

"My friends, I ask you...Why?" Snorting, his eyes narrowed angrily as he paced back and forth. "Because New Yevon wants to hide the truth! Just as the temples did before them! I tell you now, this has gone on long enough! My friends, stand with me, and together, we will bring the truth back to the people!"

The entire crowd erupted into cheers and I looked around. Somehow, I felt that something was off. Not with the hunt itself, but with his words and what he said. Part of me felt he didn't truly believe everything he said, or that maybe, he was hiding dark secrets of his own. To be honest, the guy kind of scared me.

"But...let's not overdo it." He said as he grinned. "Our opponents aren't exactly as young as they used to be."

With that, he and the group dispersed, leaving us alone on the edge of the woods.

Pursing my lips a bit, I took a step forward before turning back to the others. "Not exactly what I had expected." I muttered.

Dustin pouted and stomped his foot. "Hey, that's _our_ sphere!" he whined. "Oh poopie!"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing when he said that. Knowing the Dustin from my time, he might've been an airhead, but I don't think he'd be caught dead saying something like that, so it was kind of funny to listen to this one speak that way.

"So what now? Call it quits?"

Cassie smirked and took a few steps towards the woods. "I don't knwo about you, but I sure could use an 'awesome sphere'." she stated cockily.

"Hmmm...ok." Nodding to myself, I turned to my friends. "If they can't decide who it belongs to, then I say we make it our own! Right?"

Dustin and Cassie nodded together. "Right!" they chorused.

High fiving them, we turned and headed into the woods. We ran through the main path until we came to a blockade, and listened in as the New Yevon soldiers and the Youth League members argued.

"Hand over the sphere! The temples have controlled Spira's secrets for too long!" a man cried angrily.

The guards aimed their weapons and remained where they were. "Sphere? Secrets? What're you talking about?" one demanded, though it was obvious he was lying.

"Don't play dumb! We know you're guarding something!" another man yelled.

A second guard sneered at him angrily. "Hey! We're here to guard our families from rabble like you!"

The first man glared and took a menacing step forward. "What did you say?"

"I think it's time for you to leave." a third gaurd said as he cocked the hammer on his rifle.

Turning to the others, I nodded and we took off. We tried many paths, finding them all to be blocked, until we came to a narrow passageway. Running up it, we managed to get through the woods and climbed the stairs to where we fought the Sinspawn two years ago. There, Kimberly stood with several Youth League members and two priests.

"Which is why I keep telling you..."

"Shut up!" Kimberly said in a bored tone. "Just give us the sphere and we'll be on our way."

"I don't know what you're talking about." the priest insisted, though he was hiding a smirk.

A Youth League member suddenly came rushing down the far stairs with a triumphant grin as he raced towards Kimberly. "Hey! I found the sphere!" he shouted, holding up the glowing orange orb.

Turning to the priest with a raised eyebrow, Kimberly smirked. "There you have it." she said indifferently.

The priest suddenly turned and fled to the stairs as the ground began shaking, and a large machina golem came walking down.

"What's that?" Kimberly asked, mildly alarmed as most of the League members ran off screaming in terror.

Turning back, the priest smirked. "I had a little something prepared for just such an occasion. Nice knowing you!" Running off, he left us to fight the monstrosity.

Not wanting to exactly fight that thing, I shook my head and turned, running for the stairs out of there. Unfortunately, they were blocked by a fallen tree and if we stopped to take the time to climb over it, the machina would have caught up to us.

With a groan, I pulled out my guns and ran back towards the monster, firing as I ran. To my left, Dustin changed into his black mage and began casting thunder spells on it, and to my right, Cassie swung forward with her sword. Jumping out of the way of a hit, I turned to find Blake morphed and holding his staff and shook my head with a grin.

He ran forward and engaged the machina with his thunderstaff. I watched as he did a lot of damage to it, and got hit in the chest by a powerful blow, but thankfully, these suits protected us and he only got sent flying back a bit.

Turning back to the monster, I waited for Cassie to move out of the way before charging up my Trigger Happy. It was a special attack Gunners could do which caused them to be able to shoot a velloey of bullets extremely fast. I felt the power surge within me and aimed my guns, watching as they glowed brightly. I began firing, and each shot hit it's target, pushing the machina back a hit from the force.

Once I was done, Blake raced forward with his staff and hit the monster hard with his staff, sending it even farther back.

Dustin cast another thunder spell on it and managed to finally bring it down. As it faded away, Blake powered down and Dustin changed back to thief.

"How you like that?" Dustin cheered with a grin.

Shaking my head, I nodded to him and jumped a bit. "Not bad at all!"

Cassie remained silent, but the smirk on her face told us she felt the same way, even if she did hide it better.

Kimberly looked at us with confusion and irritation and put her hand on her hip. "What are you doing?" she asked in a bored tone.

I stopped and turned, noticing there were three Youth League members with her, if you included the guy sitting on his ass a little ways away with the sphere on the ground in front of him. I paused for a moment as I thought about it, before nodding. "Actually, we're sphere hunters."

She shrugged a little and shook her head. "So?"

I dropped to my knee with my guns out in front of me, butt to butt and pointing steadily at Kimberly. Behind me, I knew Dustin and Cassie were following my lead, and I smirked. "Gullwings, let's go! Sorry Kimberly, but that sphere's ours!"

Hearing an engine, I stood up and holstered my guns as I looked in the air, noting the Celsius flying over us. Blake took this chance to run over and grab the sphere, before returning to my side.

Together, we raced to the Celsius, but Cassie held back long enough to turn and smirk. "Tough luck!" she called as she boarded.

**End of Chapter 1**

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End of chapter 1, but only the beginning of the fic.

I'm betting people are wondering what's on the sphere, huh? Well, that'll be explained next chapter. ;)

So, hope you like it.

R+R please.

Thank you. :)

Tenshi.


	14. Strange Sphere and Terrifying Dream

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything but the endless time I spend wasting away in front of my computer.

**Note** : This Chapter begins Chapter 2 of the game. I think things should pick up from here.

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(Celsius)

As we returned to the bridge, Dustin couldn't contain his smile and began jumping around while grinning madly. "Did you see the looks on their faces?" He laughed a little. "They totally wet their pants!"

I however, wasn't feeeling so good. I felt like I just stole from a friend and pursed my lips in thought. "Maybe we overdid it?" I offered hesitantly as Blake held me against him.

Brother hopped from his seat and shook his head. " 'Overdid it?' there is no such thing!" he cried as he danced a little as well. "The Gullwings shall be notorious throughout Spira!"

"They weren't all that happy." Cassie pointed out.

"Huh?" Dustin piped in, his dancing stopping to give her a confused look.

Shaking her head, she sighed. "Don't forget, notoriety can be a bad thing." she admonished.

"Who cares?" Brother whined. "I want to have fun!"

"Just make sure you don't do anything to land us in hot water, ok?" Adam put in from his seat.

"Awww...where's the fun in being plain old sphere hunters?" Dustin pouted sadly.

Brother nodded and pointed to him. "Yeah, what he said!"

"Oh no." Cassie almost look frightened.

I turned to her in confusion and tilted my head. "What?"

Ethan hopped out of his seat and walked over. "Whenever those two agree, bad things happen."

I felt myself frown as I thought about it. "That...doesn't sound good."

He walked back to his seat and a moment later, I walked over to see how things were going.

"How'd the sphere analysis go?"

He tilted his head a little and pursed his lips. "Hmmm...it's just a regular movie sphere. It doesn't seem to have any extra functions. Want to watch the sphere?"

Nodding slowly, I was aware of everyone behind Blake and me, watching as he played the sphere.

It was fuzzy for a moment, before a badly degraded image came to the screen. It was so dark I almost couldn't tell what was on it, but it lightened up enough for me to make out an all too familiar face approaching what appeared to be a giant machina. His light blonde hair was probably the only thing I could make out clearly, except that I recognized him as the same man in the sphere I had.

He wore a silver shirt under a black vest and long baggy black pants. He also had gloves on his hands and a hateful look in his eyes.

"You know...You're all I can count on to save Karone." he said quietly.

I felt my eyes widen and then narrow. It looked and sounded like Zach, but then...who was this Karone? And what was that machina he was standing in front of? I really didn't like the overwhelming sense of dread that sphere gave me and blinked a moment as it went dark.

"Fryd eh Spira ec dryd machina? (What in Spira is that machina?)" Brother asked in a quiet, terrified voice.

"Any ideas?" Adam asked Ethan.

Shaking his head, Ethan typed in a few more commands. "Not a one. As far as machinas go, that one looks extremely dangerous. Definitely a weapon." he explained solemnly.

"Tori..." Dustin whispered at my side. "It's him."

I felt as if my heart was breaking and knew I was experiencing Spiran Tori's pain. It was an overwhelming sense of sorrow and...betrayal.

_Is he you, or...does he just _look_ like you?_

I could feel her tears building up in my eyes but refused to let them fall.

"U tyr'd mega drec cbrana! (I don't like this sphere!)" Brother all but shouted as he moved away.

_And...who's this 'Karone'?_

"Gullwings! Front and center!" Brother ordered from a little ways away.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to find Blake staring at my quizzically and shook my head with a weak smile. Together, we walked over to where the others stood and waited for Brother to continue.

So, uhh...let's give back that sphere, what do you say?" he asked nervously.

Dustin frowned and pouted. "But we worked so hard to get it!"

"That thing is uber bad news!" he insisted not backing down.

Adam crosed his arms and looked at the ground. "What if we donated it to the study of Spira's history. That's what being a sphere hunter was originally about, right?" he mused out loud.

"A little late to be bringing that up, don't you think?" Cassie pointed out.

Dustin nodded, clearly unhappy with the idea of giving the sphere away. "Yeah, we already swiped it!"

"Well, I still don't want it! We're giving it back, now!" Brother cried furiously.

To be honest, I didn't want the sphere around either. Nodding my head carefully, I took Blake's hand and squeezed tightly, needing him beside me at the moment.

"You don't mind?" Adam asked carefully.

Shaking my head, I offered a small smile. "I've seen it."

"It's still pretty shameless to saunter back up and give back the sphere we just stole." Adam muttered quietly.

Brother turned on him and glared. "Oui pi xiead! (You be quiet!)"

Cassie nodded to Adam in agreement. "Our reputations will be all but worthless if we do that. Our leader's, too, no doubt."

"Crid ib! (Shut up!)" Brother yelled furiously.

Shaking my head, I groaned. "Well, now this isn't any fun at all!'

Dustin bounced around and whined. "I really gotta let off some steam!"

"Whaddaya got in mind?" adam asked curiously.

Ethan grinned and turned in his seat to face us. "Why not ask Tori to dance?"

I felt my face heat up and looked around with wide eyes. I noticed Blake's grin and blushed deeper as I tried to think of a way out of it. "Dance?" I squeaked nervously.

"Oh? That is it! Tori, you must dance! Our sanity depends on it!" he cried as he paced.

Raising an eyebrow, I blinked a moment and wondered when Brother really began to consider himself sane.

Cassie grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. "That sounds like an oder Tori." she put in.

Glaring at her, I mentally questioned who's side she was on before sighing and giving in. "The exercise will do us good." I said with a small smile.

"Whoopeeeeee!" Brother shouted as he began dancing around the room.

"Hang tight while I get ready." I cheered getting a little more into the mood.

Dustin, Blake and I went down to the cabin, where Dustin headed inside. He noticed a couple musicians in there and began talking to them as Blake held me back in the hallway.

"Ok, spill." he said quietly, looking into my eyes. "Something about that sphere bugged you."

Raising my eyebrow, I sighed. "A lot bugged me. You know Spiran Tori's in love with Zach, and that, that guy looks just like him." He nodded slowly and I continued. "And then there's that giant machina." His face clouded over before he shook his head slowly, telling me not to bother trying to change the subject.

Sighing again, I nodded. "You know that sometimes i hear the other me's thoughts and feel her emotions." He nodded again. "When the man in the sphere mentioned saving Karone, I felt her pain at that."

Sighing softly, Blake pulled me close and held me tightly. "It's ok." he said quietly. "We'll figure everything out."

I really hoped he was right.

We went into the cabin where Dustin and I danced. You might not think it by just looking at him, but he could move just as good as I could. His Songster's ((A/N I know it's songstress...but I'm talking about the male version)), outfit consisted of black leather pants with black boots underneith, and a tan colored, tight fitting shirt that was lace up on the upper chest and the laces were undone. The sleeves on the shirt were lose around the wrists, and the shirt was trimmed in a bright golden yellow.

Together, Dustin and I loosened ourselves up for the performance, and he told me the musicians had agreed to play for us tonight.

A little later, and the ship was set on autopilot as we rode the elevator to the upper deck and stood outside. Remember back to Cid's airship two years ago? The forcefield that kept us from blowing off the ship? Well this one had one too. The ship was flying through the air and it was a clear night out as we stepped out on to the deck.

The musicians were already set up and playing music, and I took my place standing in front of them as everyone on board the ship sat around us. Even Cole and Barkeep were there. Blake sat a little ways back from everyone and focused on me, and Dustin stood a little off to my side as Cassie watched in a bored fashion.

The song I sang was just music running through my head, but everyone loved it none the less. Brother was swaying in his spot, as were many other people as well.

Soon, I finished my performance, and Dustin took up the next spot, doing a dance for the audience as I moved off to sit by myself. I went to sit on the edge of the deck along and closed my eyes as I felt strange emotions building up inside me. It was a strange sense of longing, sadness, fear, anger, happiness, confusion...so many. I knew some were my emotions, and some were Spiran Toris, but...where were these others coming from?

I thought back to the sphere and felt myself getting angry that he was talking about saving some girl named Karone. "Who's Karone?" I voiced out loud, feeling my anger growing. "Why...Why am I so mad?" Shaking my head, I quickly stood up. "Who the hell is Karone?!" I yelled.

Suddenly, the music stopped and I felt my eyes widen as I slowly turned around. Everyone was facing me and Blake was on his feet, giving me a worried look. I wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and have him hold me, but seeing everyone staring at me really embarrassed me and I chose instead to act like I didn't care. Turning to them, I nodded, aware that my face seemed to be cycling through about 20 shades of red.

"I'm going to go to bed." I told them all firmly as I strolled to the elevator. Taking it down to the cabin, I didn't even bother to change from my songstress dressphere as I collapsed on my bed.

**Dream**

I didn't remember falling asleep, but suddenly, I felt myself being dragged down a long hallway. I opened my eyes and noticed I was once again in my Summoner attire with an all too familiar man dragging me down the hall. He was blonde and had stunning blue eyes. I realized, this must've been Zach.

But, I couldn't think clearly. I remember, the corridor was hazy and dimly lit. It was really like a maze. We kept turning corners only to run down even longer hallways and I wondered where we were. It was dark and dank, and the place seemed like more of a dungeon than anything else. Somehow, I couldn't explain it, but I really felt like I should know that place.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind us and turned my head to see several Bevelle soldiers chasing us, armed with rifles. Their uniforms looked a little outdated and not exactly like the outfits they wore today, and even the rifles themselves seemed like older versions of what they used now a days.

I could hear us both panting and sense his fear as my own swallowed me up. He moved a little farther ahead and held onto my hand tightly as we ran. I knew it, I could sense and feel it. We were running for our lives, and somehow, I didn't think we'd make it out alive.

Then I lost my footing and collapsed to my knees with a small cry. He immediately stopped and helped me to my feet before we were off running again.

Everything faded to black a moment, and then suddenly lit up and I noticed we were in a large room with a huge round platform. I was standing alone and heard soldiers running our way. Turning to my left, Zach came running over and held me tightly, which I reciprocated.

Soldiers suddenly ran in and blocked off our only exit and got themselves ready to fire upon us. Three knelt on the ground and aimed their guns while four stood behind them and aimed as well. I had the distinct impression we were facin a fireing squad.

But it made me wonder, why were they going to kill us? What was going on and what did we do? Did this have something to do with the sphere that we watched, where Zach approached the machina?

Feeling my eyes widen I turned my head and noticed that the machina was there. We were standing in the same spot in front of it and it's eyes stared down at us, a dull and lifeless red.

I turned to Zach who was glaring coldly at them, and he turned to me. Right away, I noticed his angry look fade to a sad, pained look and I could feel his sense of failure. I felt that was wrong and forced a smile to my face, even as a single tear escaped from my right eye.

I could hear my thoughts ring through my head as I looked at him. _I love you._ But somehow, I also knew these weren't _my_ thoughts. _I_ didn't love this man, but yet...I did.

Gun fire rang out and I felt a sharp pain in my side making me want to scream as I was forced apart from him and fell back to land on my back. I wanted to scream, but couldn't even open my mouth. The pain rang through my body and slowly, I grew colder as I turned my head.

Zach had landed face down and didn't move. His head was turned towards me and I could make out the lifeless blue eyes staring dully at me, and felt more tears falling as I struggled to reach out and touch him. My fingers only moved about an inch before darkness overcame me and I felt my heart stop.

**End Dream**

Shooting into a sitting position I gasped sharply as my lungs demanded air. Looking around wildly and I noticed Blake, Dustin and Cassie all staring at me in confusion and worry.

"What?" I questioned. Turning to Blake, I felt tears welling up in my eyes and pulled him close as I hugged him tightly.

" 'What' what?" Cassie asked as she watched me.

Letting out a sigh of relief and realized I was back on the Celsius and that it wasn't real. "It was only a dream!" I sighed in relief. Still, I pulled far enough back to kiss Blake deeply and felt him respond immediatley as he rubbed my back slowly. When I pulled away, I buried my face in his neck. "I love you." I whispered so that only he could hear me.

"I love you too, Tor." I heard him muttered softly as he tightened his hold on me. I heard the confusion in his voice and knew that I'd have to explain.

Cassie narrowed her eyes slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "A dream's a dream." she pointed out softly.

Dustin chuckled and shook his head. "Blame it on your new jammies." she said with a raised eyebrow.

Pulling away, I looked at myself and realized I was still in my Songstress dressphere, making me giggle slightly.

They shook their heads and left the cabin and I looked out the window, realizing it was morning. I blinked a moment in confusion, not having realized I'd slept through the night, before i got up and changed into my Gunner again.

Together, Blake and I walked to the elevator and took it to the bridge. Entering, I was surprised to find everyone crowded around Brother who appeared to be in deep thought...for once.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously as we approached.

Adam sighed and shook his head. "Returning the sphere is all well and good, but who do we give it to?"

"With the Youth League and New Yevon, it's a lose-lose situation." Ethan put in from his seat.

Brother nodded and turned to me. "What do you think, Tori?"

Pursing my lips for a moment, I giggled and turned back to him. "I'll follow your orders, 'leader'." I answered sweetly.

He sputtered for a bit before nodding. "Uh...Aha!" he cried triumphantly. "As leader, I order you to decide!"

I felt my jaw drop and laughed. "Hey! That's cheating!"

Nodding, I thought about it for a moment. Youth League was filled with a bunch of hot-headed young people, but could New Yevon really be trusted? "I've decided." I said slowly.

Dustin nodded as well. "New Yevon...well, it's got 'Yevon' in it's name. Enough said." he stated firmly.

Cassie shook her head. "But the Youth League's reckless. They're the ones picking all the fights." she argued.

"Well? WELL?" Brother pushed.

"We'll give it to the Youth League." Somehow, I just didn't trust either faction, but they at least, seemed to have more going for them.

Brother nodded and headed to his seat. "Works for me! Let's go with it! Gullwings, let's move out!" he called as he set the coordinates.

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I'll tell you now, this story is going to confuse the hell out of me, so likey, I have a feeling some of you may get confused. Please let me know if that happens.

In the game, there are only two real dimensions, if you will. Yuna, the present time heroine, and Lenne, the past time victim who died with her loved one. In my fic, I have three dimensions if you will. Earth Tori, present time heroine, Spiran Tori also present time heroine, and Karone, past time victim.

Oh yeah,... Karone - Lenne.

Anyways, in my fic, Tori is having a hard time because Spiran Tori's thoughts sometimes mix with her own. So in the dream sequence, when she sounds confused/confusing, it's because it's Spiran Tori's thoughts and she's having a hard time distinguishing in the dream who's thoughts are who's.

I hope that helps.

The whole kissing Blake thing was major relief that it was just a dream and she was alive and he was there with her.

ANYWAYS...enough of the uber long notes. LOL.

Hope you like this.

R+R please.

Thank you everyone. :)

Tenshi.


	15. Burgled sphere Hunters

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I just realized something. Throughout most of the fic, you'll probably notice they go to the same areas again and again, but different things will happen each time. It's the way the game went, so please bare with me. I also realize this fic is a lot more boring than the other and I'm sorry for that. Still, I know that certain people wanted a sequel, so I'm writing it for them.

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(Mushrook Rock Reception)

Once we left the lift and made our way to the Youth League headquarters, I paused a moment as I took in the number of people standing on either side of the doorway to the main pavilion. Unlike the other times we came here, Brother, Adam and Ethan came with us, and Brother took the lead. He waslked fearlessly through the path created by the members and turned to wait for the rest of us bu the doorway.

"Wow! They're pulling out all the stops!" Dustin muttered with awe as he took in the scene.

Frowning a bit, I looked along the rows upon rows of young faces that were all turned towards us with awe and respect. "I wonder why..." I muttered quietly.

"You're the High Summoner, remember?" Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow as she began walking doen the path with Adam and Ethan.

Turning back, Adam shook his head. "But who throws a party for someone who ripped them off?" he stated in disbelief.

Brother had walked back down the path to them at that point and whacked him on the back of the head. "Tadyemc, tadyemc! cruf cusa lmycc, syh! (Details, details! Show some class, man!)" Brother snorted.

Looking up to a balcony near the top of the pavilion, I noticed Carlos standing there, looking down on us. Something about his gaze almost seemed...triumphant, but I passed it off as he disappeared and I walked up to the gate with the others. There was something seriously wrong with this guy, but until I figured out what it was, I was just going to pretend I didn't notice anything.

"Gullwings, GO! La-la-la-la-la!" Ethan began to sing as he strolled up to us. "Gullwings, FIGHT! La-la-la-laaaa!"

Giggling at him, I watched as Carlos came out of the tent and walked over, a friendly smile plastered to his face.

Nodding to him, I pulled the sphere from my pouch and walked over. "We'd like to give you the sphere that you were looking for. With this, you can stop the fighting in Kilika." I said quietly.

He slowly reached out and took the sphere, an unreadable look crossing his face. "How generous..." he said, though he didn't sound quite sincere. "And how sudden. Maybe you should start by introducing yourself, High Sum-"

Dustin quickly cut him off. "We're the Gullwings!" he stated firmly, giving Carlos a look that told him to back off.

Nodding a little, he seemed to take the hint and bowed his head. "I see. Sphere hunters."

Was it me, or was there a hint of disgust in his voice as he said that? His eyes and face didn't betray anything, but I got the distinct impression he wasn't pleased to be dealing with us. Well, I could honestly say the feeling was mutual.

"In that case, I am grateful to accept the sphere that you have brought." He stared at us a moment and bowed his head. "On behalf of the Youth League, I thank you." Turning to the members gathered all around, he raised his head proudly. "Let's hear if for the Gullwings! Three cheers!" he cried to them.

The group immediately began responding with loud chorused cries of 'Gullwings', and Brother and Ethan drank it up readily, whereas Adam seemed more reluctant and shy.

Carlos inclined his head towards the tent and obliging him, Dustin, Cassie, Blake and I followed him in, walking into a large seating room where he sat the sphere on the table and took a seat. "So, did you watch it?"

A little startled by the resigned tone in his voice and the suddeness of the question, I hesitated in answering.

Dustin seemed caught off guard as well. "Hm?"

"The sphere." he clarified calmly, not looking at us.

Frowning, I wondered why it seemed to trouble him so much.

"Well, umm, you see...I, uh... Umm, uhh..." Dustin began to chuckle nervously and shrugged helplessly.

Shaking my head I turned to Carlos and nodded. "We did." I said calmly. Something told me it was useless to lie to him anyways.

"Forget." he said simply in a tone of command.

Frowning, I shook my head. "I am afraid...I cannot." For once, I wasn't going to let someone tell me what to do.

Cassie shook her head and narrowed her eyes at Carlos. "Tori! Don't let him push you around!" she warned.

He shot her a confused and annoyed look before sighing and getting up. Pacing around the room, he slowly lowered his head and turned to us. "Some advice...that..._thing_... The colossus you saw is known as Vegnagun. It _must not_ be touched!"

Strangely, as he said that, I saw his eyes darken with desperation and something else...a desire?

"Yet those Yevon fools think they can control it. The Youth League will do whatever it takes to make sure they do not get a chance to try." He shot us all a look, though his eyes lingered a little longer on Cassie, and shook his head. "Trust me, you do _not_ want to get involved."

Pursing my lips, I was drawn back to the sphere and looked at it a moment. "Tell me..." I heard my own voice speaking, but somehow, it wasn't me talking. "Who was the man in that sphere?" Blinking a moment, I frowned as I shook my head a little.

Ever since the fight with Lady Victoria two years ago, Spiran Tori had not once taken over the body until then. I'd gotten so used to living in it, that I began to forget that it really wasn't _my_ body.

"I can't say." he answered hesitantly.

From the look in his eyes, I got the jist of what he was saying. It wasn't that he _couldn't_ say, but that he wouldn't. I saw the recognition in his eyes, and knew he was hiding something.

"I see." I said quietly, not sure what to say or do at the moment.

Suddenly, Adam ran in, breathless, and frowned. "Hey! We just got a distress call from the Celsius! We're leaving!" he called before racing out.

The conversation forgotten for the moment, we all raced out and back to the ship, wondering what had happened and fearing the worst.

(The Celsius)

As we rushed around, we checked the floors one by one. As far as we could tell, the ship seemed all right, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as we finally checked the last stop, the engine room, Barkeep came rushing in.

"Intruders?" he asked in a slightly worried tone. "Anything mishing? Shtill inveshtitagating."

"It's official." Ethan sais as he followed Barkeep into the engine room we all stood in. "We've been burgled. The broken sphere found in Zanarkand is missing."

Adam frowned and held up a large pink sphere with a heart design in the center of it. "Looks like the burglar left us a present."

Hitting the button, it showed an image of Cassidy on the bridge with the broken sphere in her hands as she laughed. "Who's on top now, Dullwings?" she put in haughtily. "It'll be a thousand years before you can take on the mighty Cassidy!" With more laughter, Ormi walked over and the sphere went blank.

"She got us." Cassie stated with a surprised look on her face.

I was royally pissed and frowned. "Oh, poopie!" I stated angrily. Blinking a moment, I realized I'd been spending way too much time with Dustin.

He seemed to notice that too and gave me a shocked look. "Tori! Don't talk like that!" he scolded.

I raised an eyebrow and turned to him. "I'm just copying you!" I defended myself.

Rolling her eyes, Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight. "That's nice, and...?"

"We're gonna take it back!" I stated as if it was obvious. "No one messes with us!"

"And what about Vegnagun?"

_I didn't want to get too involved. Not like when I was a Summoner..._

Letting out an irritated groan, I shook my head. "We're forgetting who we are! We're sphere hunters! The Gullwings!" I stated loudly.

Brother nodded and grinned. "That's right! We steal back what has been stolen! That is the law of the sphere hunter! Now we go to Chateau Cassidy! We attack in the name of honour!"

Shaking his head, Ethan sighed. "...Get our hineys kicked in the name of honour."

"Maybe we can sneak in, in disguse?" I suggested as an idea came to me.

"That's it!" Brother cheered happily. "Tori, you are brilliant!"

So..." Dustin pondered out loud. "We have to fly around until we find Cassidy's goons..."

"Beat them up and steal their uniforms." Cassie finished. Looking at all of us, she snorted a little. "Four of them."

I blinked a moment and turned to Blake who'd been silent the whole time. Imagining him in one of those green outfits, I bit my lip hard to keep from giggling.

We agreed to the mission and headed to the bridge where Brother automatically headed for Kilika.

(Kilika, Normal POV)

As the group approached the town, they noticed a large group of soldiers blosking the way and Kimberly standing at the head of them. When she saw them approaching, she grinned and shook her head.

"The Gullwings, was it not? Sphere hunters that give back spheres."

It was a little difficult to tell if she was disgusted or amused.

"Don't you think that's a little odd? Of course, we're glad you're on the Youth League's side, but still..." She sighed and trailed off a moment. "We're having a little spat with New Yevon. Just what I needed." she groaned. "No rest for the weary, dear. You might want to keep your distance from the island for a little longer." she warned them good naturedly.

Feeling a little let down, the group returned to the Celsius where they set their next destination to Besaid Island.

(Besaid)

As the group landed near the island town of Besaid, the first thing they noticed was that the Aurochs were outside and seemed to be training. Datto was doing squats, Letty was running up and down the hill, and Botta was doing sit ups.

As soon as they saw the Gullwings approaching, they stopped what they were doing and ran over, happiness and excitement written all over their faces.

"So you gave the sphere to the Youth League, ya?" Datto asked with a relieved grin.

Jassu nodded in agreement. "Ya, we knew you were on our side!"

"What do you mean?" Tori asked with confusion as she looked from one Auroch to the other.

Datto puffed out his chest and grinned with pride. "We Besaid Aurochs have all joined the Youth League."

"Well, officially at least." Jassu muttered before shaking his head. "And, uh, Shane hasn't joined up yet."

"Well can ya blame him? His kids popping out any time now. Now's not the time for him to be fussin' about with politics."

"Fussing, you say?" came an unfamiliar voice.

As everyone spun around, the color visibly drained from the Auroch's faces. A young man with dirty blonde, spiked hair and blue eyes walked over as he held his sheathed sword at his side. He glared at all of them before turning to the Gullwings and raising an unimpressed eyebrow. "I am Sky. I have been dispatched to Besaid by Youth League headquarters. I'm here to pound some fight into these pathetic slackers!" he stated firmly with a disgusted look.

Tori felt her blood boil at his attitude and stared back cooly at he looked back to the training men. "You must be pretty confident in your strength if you're skipping training just to flap your lips like that. So, I guess you won't mind showing me what you're really made of then."

The Aurochs muttered between themselves quietly and Sky smirked at their obvious discomfort before crossing his arms over his chest. "Is no one among you man enough to break my record? You're pathetic!" he snorted.

Dustin turned to Tori and shook his head. "Ok, he's really starting to creep me out." he said quietly.

Raising an eyebrow, she shot him a look that agreed completely before nodding. "Seriously." she muttered back.

Datto sighed and shook his head. "See you later, Tori!" he called before doing the old bow of respect from Yevon.

Apparently, Sky didn't take to kindly to that. His face froze before turning into a cold, unreadable mask and he glared at the poor man. "Stop that at once!" he ordered sternly. "The age of temples and prayors is over. It's about time you let go of those musty old traditions. There's no need to bow down to Summoners either. Yes, Summoners are a thing of the past."

Tori'd had her back to them when he said that and stopped in mid stride, fuming with rage over what he'd just said. Sure, she might've agreed with his comment about the traditions being old, and sure, she didn't want people bowing down to her, but the way he said it...

Dustin spun around on his heels and glared at the man. "Hold it right there!" he called as he pointed visciously at Sky. "Just who's Calm do you think this is?"

"There are no more Aeons to Summon. The Summoners are all but useless now." he said coldly.

Blake glared at him before turning to Tori with a concerned look on his face.

With a deadly calm voice, she kept her back facing him and closed her eyes as she struggled to remain calm. "You _will_ take those words back." she said coldly.

He smirked and bowed his head ever so slightly. "I will, _if_ you succeed in proving your worth to me. Well, what do you say?"

As much as she didn't want to, her pride wouldn't let her turn it down. "You're on, Sky!" she called.

"The way you twaddled on before, you'd best break my record."

He gave her a short description of what she had to do and stood back as she grabbed her guns and faced the top of the hill. She'd have to run down the path, across the waterfalls, and to the beach, killing every fiend that came near her, all alone. Apparently, each type of fiend was worth a different amount of points and if she could kill enough to get over 500 points, she'd break his record. Once she killed one, a tag would fall off and she'd have to use it to keep track of the marks.

It seemed that these were specially trained fiends for this...trial? It didn't sound so tough, except that she only had a set amount of time to do this in.

Narrowing her eyes, she nodded that she was ready and took up a ready stance to race.

"Begin!" he called, and she raced up the hill without looking back.

The rest of the group followed behind her at a much slower pace, and took a shortcut Sky had shown them, through the woods to get to the beach first. They waited patiently as Sky kept an eye on the time.

Blake too was keeping an eye on the time remaining, and grew worried when it hit the thirty second mark. Biting his lip, he looked up and smiled in relief to see Tori running towards them with a triumphant grin, holding out the pouch of tags for him to count. A moment later and he sighed and sneered.

541 points.

She'd beaten his record easily.

Dustin turned to Sky and grinned as he jumped excitedly. "Take that!" he cried.

"Hm. Skill you may have..." he admitted before shaking his head. "But I still find it hard to believe you defeated Sin! You obviously had some hel-"

"I did." she cut him off firmly with a sad look on her face. Glaring at him half heartedly, she sighed. "From my friends. My pilgrimage was successful because my friends and the Aeons protected me along the way. And they still do. Memories of the time we spent together, make me strong. I won't stand here and let you call that strength useless!"

Shaking his head, Sky groaned silently. "Must your kind always prattle on about memories?" he asked rhetorically before walking off.

"He's got _some_ nerve!" Dustin growled angrily.

Cassie shrugged. "Sore loser."

Heading back to a teleport sphere, they boarded the Celsius, a little disappointed that they hadn't found a uniform and quite mad at the attitude of that guy.

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Hmmm...interesting.

Hope you liked it.

Will they ever find out who that is in the sphere? Will they everfind the uniforms to get into Cassidy's 'chateau'? Stay tuned to find out.

And...what's this about Dark Aeons???

R+R please and let me know what you think.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	16. An Interview and Chocobo Hunt

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok first of all, this fic could have gone one of two ways. 1) I could give the sphere to New Yevon and make enemies of the Youth League, but then a lot of good stuff would be left out. 2) I could give the sphere to the Youth League...which I did. Some of the quests I won't write much about because they aren't necessary in the game, and they don't give much info to go on. I might try to explain a few, because I figure they might be funny, necessary, or might act for good fillers.

Second, I want to thank all the reviewers so far for keeping me going and encouraging me. I got a new monitor from a pawn shop because my old was giving out, but now this one's giving out too. If I suddenly don't update for a week or so, it's because of one of many reasons. A) I am really sick and can't sit at my computer long enough to do much writing. B) I am terribly busy helping friends/family with stuff. C) I need to go to a different computer to work on...

But yes...Special thanks to **Pinklen98**, **JuseaPeterson**, and **ThunderBrosRule27/OB1follower**.

Anyways, back to the fic.

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(Luca)

Heading to the main square of Luca, the group was stopped when they crossed an all too familiar face. Holding a microphone and standing in the center of a large crowd, with a camera man filming her, was Ashley. She too seemed to have changed very little in two years, and she was still as exciteable as she was when they first met her.

Seeing the group, including Brother, Adam and Ethan, she ran over and grinned. She briefly explained the news broadcast and asked if they would be up to possibly a few questions. Not really wanting to let her down, Tori hesitantly agreed and walked beside her as she began.

"Hello, and good afternoon, Luca!" she greeted with a smile as the crowd cheered. When they died down, she continued. "This is Ashley, bringing you all the news throughout Spira. These days, everyone's talking about the groups battling throughout Spira for control of the spheres. Let's start with the Youth League. From it's leader, Meyvn Carlos on down, their ranks are made up of mostly former Crusaders."

Tori felt a little uncomfortable standing there as Ashley spoke, and hoped she wouldn't be asked any questions about that.

"Fresh off the attack of Kilika temple, the Youth League is sending shockwaves throughout Spira. Pairing off against them is none other than New Yevon. All eyes were on them after the chairman's sudden resignation. Chaos seemed inevitable, but their newly appointed leader, Praetor T.J., has held them together with utmost finesse. Another group that has been turning heads, is the Machine Faction, an Al Bhed organization. They've managed to distance themselves from the sphere struggle embroiling Spira, but their unmatched technological prowess could well be enough to dramatically shift the balance of power."

Blake, who stood off to the side, rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to grab Tori and walk away.

"And let's not forget the Cassidy Syndicate, the gang with a style all it's own."

Tori bit her lip and struggled not to laugh at that. Stylish wasn't how _she'd_ describe them.

"Headquartered at Chateau Cassidy in Guadosalam, it's agents span the globe. But lately, there's been one group in particular that's been drawing all kinds of attention! That's right, the only group led by a High Summoner, the Gullwings! And now, here's today's special guest, High Summoner Tori!" she cried as she _finally_ finished the speech.

Having been zoning out, Tori snapped to attention and turned to Ashley with wide eyes. "Huh?"

Cassie smirked and shook her head. "Break a leg." she teased.

As the screen focused in on Tori, she gulped nervously and put on a cool facade.

"Lady Tori, your concert the other day was nothing short of spectacular!" Ashley cheered excitedly.

Blinking for a moment, she tried to think of how to explain that it wasn't _her_ up on that stage. "Well, it was sort of me up there, but...not really..."

Ashley blinked a moment before giving a confused smile. "Puzzling words to be sure. And speaking of puzzling, why the sudden career change to sphere hunting? It sounds like you caused quite a stir with that disappearing act you pulled on Besaid."

Once again feeling guilty, she looked into the camera. "And I'm very sorry about that." she said with a little bow.

"Rumor has it, you left the island looking for clues about a certain young man. Anything you can share about that?"

Chancing a glance at Blake she saw him grinning and shaking his head as he chuckled and smiled at him slightly. Catching his eye, he nodded his head slowly, and her smile faded as she sighed. "That's right." she said after a moment.

"So, tell us about him."

_And what exactly do I tell you about a guy I don't even know??_ she wondered silently. "It's...a long story." she said softly.

Nodding quickly, Ashley turned to the camera. "I'm sure it is! One can only imagine the fascinating tale that led to you becoming the leader of the Gullwings."

As expected, Brother was _not_ about to let that comment go, and stomped up to stare into Ashely's confused gaze. "Hold it right there!" he commanded. "I am the leader1 Me! Gullwings! We rock you!" he cheered as he turned to face the camera.

Adam walked up to grab Brother and stopped as soon as he realized he was on camera. Blinking a moment, he walked over and looking into the small screen. "Whoa! This thing on?"

Shaking his head, Ethan looked to a nearby sphere screen that was showing them, and sighed. "It's filming two morons right now." Pursing his lips, he raised an eyebrow. "This is just a toy compared to the things I've built." he put in smugly.

"Tell us, is it true the Gullwings have thrown their support behind the Youth League?" Ashley asked curiously.

Brother stuttered for a moment as he struggled to explain and Tri calmly walked over and buried herself heppily into Blake's arms. "That statement is...kind of true." The Al Bhed man offered weakly. "But not really, no."

"Uh, we don't wanna get caught up in other people's problems." Adam explained a little better.

Nodding slowly, Ashley sighed and turned back to the camera. "So many questions left to ask, but I'm afraid we're out of time. Our thanks to today's guests, High Summoner Tori and the Gullwings!"

As Tori stood with the others near the cafe, Cassie raised an eyebrow and turned to face her. "Not bad." she said seriously.

"You should've joined in too!" she whined a little.

Now Cassie smirked. "It was more fun to watch."

Ashley walked up and smiled at the group. Her eyes landed on Blake and her smile grew, even if it did get a little confused. "Lady Tori, great interview! Thank you so much for helping me out!" Bowing deeply, she sighed a little.

"So, how long you been doing this?" Dustin asked curiously from where he stood next to Cassie.

"Well, after the Calm came, the temples were in decline. At first, I thought it best to stick around and help the temples get back on their feet, but everyone just ordered me around, so I left."

"You couldn't just tell them 'no'?" Cassie asked a little incredulously.

"That's the part of me I wanted to change! I made up my mind to leave the temple and came here to Luca. They needed people for this, and asked me, so here I am."

"Another job you were 'asked' to do?" Cassie put in with a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I suppose, nothing has really changed, has it?" Ashley asked softly. After a moment, she forcibly perked up and smiled at all of them. "I gotta run! My next assignment starts really soon. See you later, Lady Tori!" she cried as she ran off.

"She complains, but you can tell she likes it." Cassie pointed out.

Blake chuckled softly behind Tori and she smiled as she leaned into his warm embrace.

Dustin turned a teasing grin on Tori and chuckled as well. "Sounds a bit like Tori, don't you think?" he asked innocently.

"Really?" Tori put in, looking shocked.

Dustin and Cassie moved to stand next to a table and Dustin grinned at the brunette warrior. "Dr C. Care to give us your opinion?" he asked teasingly.

Cassie grinned and shrugged. "The hardest person to know if yourself." she said seriously, though amusement shone in her eyes.

Laughing, Tori gave them a mock offended look and shook her head. "Hey! Cut that out!" she cried as she chased them around the table and out the door.

Blake watched them all for a moment before chasing after them, chuckling quietly to himself as he ran.

(Mi'ihen Highroad, Blake's POV)

As we finished climbing the stairs to the Mi'ihen Highroad, I stopped a moment to look around. I remembered how there had been more machina on the road, and also noticed that the chocobos were gone. Blinking a moment, I took in the lack of fiends and the way the Highroad otherwise looked exactly the same as it had two years ago.

We walked down the road, passing many travellers and soon made it to the agency with little to no battles. As Tori had explained it, the machinas were guards to keep the fiends from harassing the travellers.

Heading inside the travel agency, I noticed a familiar teen standing at the desk, speaking to the clerk and noticed the faint look of recognition in Tori's eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you won't be able to go chocobo riding." the clerk apologized sadly.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, the boy nodded. "I see. I'm sorry to bother you..." he said before turning and walking past us slowly, exiting the agency.

Following him out to the cliff where Tori and I sat two years ago, I took in the short brown hair and blue eyes as he turned to face us. His look was confused for a moment before recognition suddenly filled him and he gasped excitedly.

"You aren't Lady Tori, by any chance?" he asked politely.

She nodded quickly, giving him a slightly confused look and I knew what she was thinking. 'Who is this boy and how does he know me?' "I am." she answered slowly.

"I don't suppose you remember me, do you?" he asked almost hopefully.

She seemed to think about it a moment before her eyes lit up and she smiled. "I think I remember...You can't be...Justin?"

He nodded and grinned as he clapped his hands together in front of him. This was Justin, the young boy we met two years ago. He'd grown older now, and looked to be about 15.

"That's right! You really _do_ remember me!" he cheered happily.

_Remember Justin? We met him two years ago, on the Mi'ihen Highroad. The little boy that was so looking forward to the Calm._

"What're you doing here?" Tori asked with a smile.

Justin's happiness faded and he sighed dejectedly. "I came to ride a chocobo! I've wanted to ride one for as long as I can remember."

Dustin tapped his chin with his finger. "Hmmm... You don't see many chocobos these days." he mused out loud. "Everybody rides hovers."

"Yeah..." he agreed sadly. "On top of that, I hear there's a chocobo-hunting fiend on the prowl. This isn't a very good place for poor little chocobos anymore."

I frowned at the mention of the chocobo-hunting fiend and briefly remembered back two years ago when we had to fight one here. It was a weird sense of Deja Vu.

Tori and Dustin turned back to face the agency, along with Justin and I followed suit as I pursed my lips. "Maybe they don't come here anymore?" I suggested weakly, not really sure what to say.

As if to prove me wrong, a large golden chocobo suddenly ran in front of the agency and stopped to stare at us.

"Cho..." Tori stuttered in surprise.

I blinked in shock as I stared at the wild bird.

Dustin opened and shut his mouth a few times while seemingly trying to say something. "Cho!" he sputtered.

Cassie, who had her back to the agency, frowned and looked at us all in confusion. "Cho?" she repeated cluelessly.

Justing jumped up and down excitedly and pointed wildly to the large bird. "It's a chocobo!" he screamed excitedly.

Hearing his yell, the bird took off back the way we had come, just as Cassie turned around. I turned and looked at Tori who was grinning at me and felt my eyes widen.

_Oh no..._ I thought, already knowing what she was planning.

"Let's get it!" she cried as she ran down the path.

Dustin shook his head before running after her, and with a sigh, Cassie chased after them both with me on her heels.

Dustin took the lead as we stopped just over the hill and turned to grin at us. "Stay close to me! I'll get that chocobo!" he cried confidently.

I exchanged a worried look with Tori, remembering back in the Bikanel Desert when he'd gotten us lost, but for lack of a better idea, we followed him as he ran down the Highroad.

Eventually, we stopped and Dustin pointed to the road ahead, where the chocobo was eating grass. "There is it! What did I tell ya?" he cried excitedly. He ran a little ways ahead of the group and turned back to us. "I'll watch the far end. No chocobos'll get out that way!"

Cassie nodded and moved to stand in the center of the path behind us. "And I'll watch this end."

Turning to Tori I shrugged. "I guess that leaves catching it up to us."

We ran back and forth after the chocobo. I wondered what Tori was doing but she explained she was trying to wear it out. Still, I felt really stupid running back and forth after a bird that was obviously ten times faster than we were.

Soon enough, it began to pant and show how tired it was, and as we closed in, it ran passed us towards Cassie. She stood there and stared at it cooly and it stopped before turning and running towards Dustin. His eyes grew large but he remained where he was, and the chocobo jumped right over him, running off down the road.

I groaned in irritation and exhaustion as we met back up in the center of the road and Dustin glared at the bird angrily. "Maybe it's just me...but this is really starting to chap my hide!" he whined. Turning in the direction the chocobo had run off him, he stomped his foot. "Oooooh! Come back here bird-brain!" he yelled.

We ran back over to a first side path that led to a little clearing with the remains of an old building in the center. Dustin climbed on top and began looking around as we all took a brief breather. "Oh, where'd it go this time?" he groaned out.

After a moment of looking, he jumped excitedly and pointed off into the distance. "Aha! Look over there!" he cried.

We looked over and found it in another clearing a little ways off, panting a little. Taking off, we headed for that clearing, but when we got there, it was gone and I was seriously beginning to hate the things.

"Huh? It's gone..." Tori muttered in confusion as she looked around.

Dustin found another ruined building to stand on and climbed up once again, huffing the whole way as he began to look around again.

"For such scrawny legs, that thing sure can run." Cassie muttered as she panted for air.

Growling, Dustin's eyes suddenly widened and he jumped again. "Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! That way, that way! _Way_ over there!" he yelled.

I turned in the direction he was pointing and felt my jaw drop. Sure enough, there was the chocobo, a good 15 minute run from here. Turning to Tori, I sighed. "Mind if we cheat now?" I asked pointedly.

"Cheat?" she repeated with confusion.

Shaking my head, I streaked several feet away before stopping and turning, seeing Cassie and Dustin's eyes wide and their jaws dropped. Tori herself looked a little embarrassed for not thinking about it but nodded as an evil grin came over her face.

We got Cassie and Dustin to wait in the middle of the path, and together, streaked over to the bird, surrounding it. It got scared and ran off in the direction of our friends, only to stop, and as it turned around, we streaked up to block it's way. I wasn't sure if it was going to fight, but after a second, it lowered it's head and allowed Tori to approach and pet it.

She fed it some greens, and it seemed, that was all that was needed to make it tame. Turning to Tori, I shook my head and sighed loudly. "Now I need a shower and a good week long snooze." I told her as I blinked lazily.

She giggled and shook her head. But her smile soon faded when a call caught our attention and we turned to find a strange man running over with a look of terror on his face.

"Hey! HEY!" he yelled. Once he reached our side, he panted. "Your friend's in...hot water!" he cried breathlessly. "He tried to catch a chocobo...and the chocobo-hunting fiend came around! He's trapped on top of an old machina ruin and the thing's going after him!" he explained.

"Tori, come on!" Dustin cried as he ran off ahead.

We followed him back to the agency and beyond to the next road. Surprisingly, the chocobo we'd just caught, followed us easily and I resisted the urge to kick the stupid bird for keeping us tied up so long. We stopped as we neared a bridge, and looked over the edge to see a large fiend, almost exactly like the one we fought two years ago, slowly climbing the tower to get to the unconscious justin.

Tori shook her head and quickly backed up several steps as a look of determination came over her face. I turned around in confusion, only to see her running at the ledge, but I jumped in the way and stopped her as Cassie turned around.

"You can't!" Cassie cried angrily, seeing Tori's attempts to get down there faster.

Shaking her head quickly, a look of panic came over her face. "But there isn't time!" she cried.

"HYAAA!"

We all turned to see several armoured chocobos jump in front of the fiend and distract it, running around it quickly and jumping over it. Turning to the path that led into the lower area, we noticed Cole standing there with a determined look on his face. He looked up and saw us, waving at us briefly. "We'll try and buy you some time! LAdy Tori, please hurry!" he cried.

"Piece of cake!" Dustin cried as he grabbed his daggers.

Tori nodded. "Let's go!"

Together, we ran down the road, making our way towards the gate that led to Mushroom Rock, and turning around. Beside the path leading back the way we had come, was a path that went in a gentle decline and we took it, now crossing the Oldroad of Mi'ihen.

Within only a couple of minutes, we had made it to the clearing and saw Justin awake and waving to catch our attention with a panicked look on his face.

"You guys take it from here!" Cole cried as he summoned the injured chocobos back and took off.

Nodding in determination, Tori grabbed her guns and slowly walked forward. "Let's clean up!" she called.

Grabbing my thief's daggers, I ran forward and sliced the monster, before reaching my hand out and swiping a mega-phoenix from it. Jumping back, I watched as Cassie charged her blade with fire energy, Flameblade, and ran forwards to do a viscious downward swipe, a faint trail of fire left behind in it's wake.

Dustin also grabbed his blades and jumped on the chocobo-hunting fiend's arm, running up along it to the neck, where he slashed his blades together across the side of it, before jumping and flipping away.

Tori closed her eyes a moment and glowed briefly before unleashing Trigger Happy and a volley of fast shots that hit dead on and knocked the fiend back a few feet.

Dustin turned to me and grinned before holding up his daggers. "Tag team!" he cried.

Getting the hint of what he was talking about, I nodded and together, we raced forward and sliced and slashed at the fiend, knocking it back farther. I saw him get hit in the arm and was about to hand him a potion when he held his hand up. He glowed a bright yellow before racing forward and striking the fiend in the arm, and when he backed off, I noticed his wound was gone.

Grinning at me lop-sidedly, he shook his head. "Pilfer health." he said as we raced back to the others.

I guessed it was another special ability of the thief dressphere.

Cassie once again charged her blade with fire and ran forward, and as she sliced at it's body, Tori shot at it's head.

Soon the chocobo-hunting fiend collapsed and faded away into pyreflies, and Justin hopped down from the ruined machina. When he raced to Tori's side, he began ferverantly thanking her for saving his life. Still, the look on his face was hilarious when we brought out the chocobo we'd captured. He got on it's back and raced around while Cole stood nearby and watched with a small smile.

"He looks happy." Tori stated with a giggle as he raced around the clearing.

Cassie shook her head and gave a bored look. "Whatever works for him." she said indifferently.

Nodding to us, Tori smiled and turned to Cole who looked a little uncertain.

"So...I don't suppose you'd let me on board with Justin, would you?"

By the way the boy was looking at the chocobo, I got the hint that if we took them, we'd have to take the bird too. I wasn't sure what her answer would be, but once I saw that look on her face, I guessed it.

"All aboard!" she cheered with a smile and a mischievious sparkle in her eyes.

In case you didn't know, the airship DIDN'T have a stable...thus the bird would be roaming free on the ship. Poor Brother. I had to stifle my laugh as I imagined the look on his face when he saw our guests.

Bowing, Cole let out a relieved sigh and smiled. "I am in your debt, Lady Tori!" he said firmly before rushing off with Justin to board the Celsius.

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Yes I know I don't have Ashley with Andros. It's difficult because I'm using two characters that DON'T hook up in the game. I'm hoping to put them together but I can't promise anything.

**Pinklen98** - Yes, I know I had Tommy and Kim break up, but who said it was forever? The thing with this game is that they are both with different factions, but, well...you'll see. :)

Well I hope you like this.

R+R please. :)

Thanks everyone. :)

Tenshi


	17. Mushroom Rock Talks

**Disclaimer** : Same old, same old. I don't anything.

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(Mushroom Rock Road, Tori'vs POV)

As we entered the Mushroom Rock Road and proceeded to where Bridge had his Youth League members training, we were stopped by two excited young men. They had been running laps around the area when they stopped and raced over.

"Hey! It's the Gullwings!" one called.

The other nodded and slapped his hand to his chest in salute. "Well, I'll be. So you really are gonna join the Youth League."

I could only stare for a moment as I questioned where he got _that_ idea from. Ever since we returned that sphere, everyone's been saying we've joined up with them, but that's not true. None of us want to get involved in the political struggle so we were remaining neutral. Couldn't anyone see that?

Bridge rushed over and looked at us with a grin. "Lady Tori, thank you!" he cheered as he too saluted us.

Frowning, I tilted my head. "Umm...for what?" I questioned hesitantly.

"Surely this is the day you do us the homour of joining the Youth League? What an occasion! I have long dreamed that this day would come." he said dreamily as he stared at us.

"Sir!" both Youth League members saluted. Running off, they resumed their training.

Shaking my head, I felt my eyes narrow. "Well actually, that's not why we're here..." _Not even close._ I finished mentally.

Shaking his own head, Bridge's smile never faultered. "Don't worry, the Youth League will give the Gullwings a grand welcome! Please, proceed to headquarters immediately! If you'll excuse me, I have duties to attend to."

I opened my mouth to disagree but he was already gone and I shut it with a mental sigh. With a tilt of my head, I started forward down the path to the headquarters, intending to talk to Carlos about this.

It was a little strange that the Youth League cadets were surrounding us at points and taking care of the fiends, and it made me uncomfortable. They were treating us like we were fragile glass, about to break at any moment, and that wasn't at all true.

As we stopped near the stepping stones that led down into the ravine, I stopped as a faint transmition came from the Celsius. Holding my hand by my mouth, I raised my head to the sky and activated my com.

"We're picking up some faint sphere waves near your location." Adam informed us before I could say a word.

Dustin looked around and frowned. "I don't see anything." he spoke into his com.

Adam sighed on the other end and a moment later his voice came through again. "It's probably down in the ravine. Do you see a way down?"

Looking to the stepping stones, I nodded. "Ok, we'll check it out." I said, turning to the steps.

Before they turned off the com, I heard Brother's voice come over. "Be careful!" he ordered before muttering curses about the chocobo that was being held in the cabins.

Turning off my com, I turned to Blake who was chuckling quietly and giggled, before turning back around head heading down into the ravine.

There were no Youth League members to 'protect' us now, so we had to fight a few battles, but they were pretty easy, and we soon made it back to the clearing where the door to the Den of Woe stood, shocked to find Carlos standing there with a red sphere in his hands, his back to us.

Letting out a grunt, Carlos shook his head slowly.

I tilted my head and put my hands behind my back as I slowly took a step forward. "Is something the matter?" I asked quietly.

He spun around quickly with wide eyes, before he relaxed upon seeing us and smiled slightly. "Oh. It's you." he said softly with a nod. "As you can see, this place has been sealed." Holding up the red sphere in his hands, he sighed. "But just this one sphere is not enough."

Shaking my head, I looked at the door dejectedly, really beginning to wonder what was on the other side that was so dangerous, it had to be sealed. "Well, that's the end of that, I guess." I said hesitantly.

Dustin nudged my side softly and shook his head. "No, it's not, Tori." he whispered.

I felt my eyes widen and my face heat up as I realized what he meant. "Oh! I know! Why not let the Gullwings take on this mission?"

"You'll find the other spheres?" he asked hesitantly.

I nodded firmly. "On my honour as a sphere hunter!" Grinning mischieviously, I tilted my head a bit more. "Of course, we won't do it for free..." I stated, trailing off for him to figure out.

He chuckled and shook his head slowly. "Very well, I leave it in your hands. Here, hold onto this sphere."

"Thanks!" Dustin cheered, holding out his hand. Just as it looked like Carlos was going to walk over to him and hand it to him, he walked on past to Cassie and handed it to her instead, staring into her eyes as she glared at him.

"Maybe...this is fate?" he asked softly.

He sneered and shook her head. "I don't think so." she put in firmly.

Sighing again, he left the scene, leaving us alone to chat. Blake took the sphere from Cassie and walked over to the door. Trying a few nodes, he fit it into one, and pulled out the second sphere, fitting it into another. Together, they still weren't enough. From the looks of it, we'd need ten spheres total to open the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dustin squeaked in shock as he ran over to Cassie and bent down to look up into her eyes. "You know him?!" he asked incredulously.

Rolling her eyes, Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "What should you care?" she shot back, obviously not wanting to be questioned.

Grinning, Dustin crossed his own arms and straightened up. "Come on! There was something between you two, wasn't there?" he asked slyly.

Glaring at him, she huffed. "Dustin. I'll say this once, ok? I consider you friends, and I trust you. I even respect you, all right? I would think that'd be enough." she pointed out crossly.

"Well, yeah, but..." Dustin looked a little put out but ovbiously not ready to give up yet. "Don't you ever wanna know more about your friends?"

"Not really." she answered in a bored tone.

Grabbing her hand, Dustin held it close and looked into her eyes. "Well I do. I do wanna know more about you." he insisted.

"What for? Who cares what happened in the past?" A minor look of fear came to Cassie's eyes as she pulled her hand free.

I nodded and grinned as I stalked up to her. "There _was_ something! Come on, Cassie! You can tell us! What happened?" I asked excitedly. I heard chuckling and turned my head to see Blake laughing at me. Pouting at him I stuck out my tongue before turning back to Cassie.

Her head snapped to me and she stared at me with wide eyes before they narrowed dangerously and she glared. "I'm disappointed in you, Tori." she said in clear frustration. "I thought you were above all that."

I raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. _Maybe...maybe not. _I thought slyly. "Well, not anymore! I like asking questions!"

"You'll lose friends." she pointed out.

Thinking about what she said, I frowned and lowered my head. "You think so?" I asked quietly. Shaking my head, I raised me hands and took a step back. "Nevermind then." he said forcing a giggle to my lips.

Dustin pouted and stomped his foot. "Awww, and I was looking forward to hearing the good stuff! Confessions of a shady past!" he said dramatically.

Groaning, Cassie turned and tilted her head to glare at him over her shoulder. "You're a pain, Dustin. Minus four respect points."

His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open making Blake laugh and me giggle. He rushed over to her side and raised his hands in surrender as he gave her the puppydog eyes. "Uh-oh. How many points left?"

"Fourty-seven." she answered calmly.

Dustin's face grew worried. "That's...not a whole lot, is it?" he asked me hesitantly.

Walking up to the door, Cassie slowly raised and put her hand on it. "Why don't you try figuring out how to get into here instead of in my head?"

"Maybe we need more spheres like the two we have, to open it?" I offered weakly.

"It might open if we find them all." she agreed slowly.

Dustin opened his mouth a little and a slightly worried look came over his face. Chuckling nervously, he clasped his hands together behind his back and hopped over to Cassie. "I kinda still wanna know what happened." he said.

Huffing in frustration, she turned and walked towards the ravine path. "That's fourty-six." she said as she left.

Leaving, wewent back to the upper path and continued on to the headquarters as Bridge asked us to do. Riding up the lift, we approached the gates to the encampment and were stopped by Alyssa running over.

"Lady Tori! So...is it true that once the Gullwings join the Youth League, you'll be in charge of your own division?" she asked excitedly.

Sighing, I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess...Bridge?" I asked knowingly, holding back the urge to go find him and toss him off the cliff.

She nodded and gestured back to the camp. "Everyone's talking." she said simply.

"We just helped out that one time, really!" I insisted as I shook my head violently.

Alyssa nodded and a small, knowing smile came over her face. "I knew it." she stated simply. "It did sound a little funny. I mean, you sound like the kind of person that decides things on their own, and then just does whatever they planned to do. I can't picture you joining an organization or an army or anything like that."

Blinking a moment, I turned to the others and noticed their grins. Even Blake was grinning and I tilted my head. "So I really come across that way?" I asked innocently, honestly not getting what they meant. Ok, well I got it, but didn't understand.

Dustin shook his head before waving his hand in front of my face. "Um, hello?" he put in with a grin.

"Just as I thought."

Spinning around, we noticed Taylor walk up to Alyssa with a slightly aggravated smile on her face. "I have reprimanded Bridge for spreading such ridiculous rumors. It's highly unprofessional." she said with a little distaste.

"Yeah, but think how great it'd be if it were true." Alyssa put in dreamily.

I felt my face heat up, recognizing the awe in her voice. Sometimes, I felt that being a High Summoner was more trouble than it was worth.

"Still making the pitch?" Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow and slight smirk.

"No, no." Taylor insisted with the shake of her head. Her face turned serious and she sighed. "Absolutely not. I know that words alone are not enough to sway Lady Tori's heart. The heart is not moved from without, but rather, when the time is right, it moves of it's own accord from within. Finding the place where one belongs is, by nature, a personal journey."

Alyssa nodded and smiled at her commanding officer and friend. "Isn't Commander Taylor amazing? Such wisdom!" she gushed excitedly.

Blushing, Taylor looked down and shook her head with a laugh. "I learned it all from my troups. Excuse us, we have a strategy session to attend. Farewell."

"Come and see us again, ok?" Alyssa put in as they left.

Turning around, I nodded to the others and we headed back down the lift to the path below, heading back out to the main path that lead to the teleport sphere nearby. Boarding the Celsius, we headed off to our next destination...

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Hmmm...A little insight? Cassie obviously knows Carlos somehow and he knows her...but how? And what's with her reactions in Djose and Bevelle? Just _what_ is she hiding? Things'll be explained throughtout the fic.

And yes, I mentioned Dark Aeons before. Those too will be explained.

ANYWHO...Hope you like it. I'm thinking of adding preview quotes to the end of each chapter, linked to something someone will say in the next. What do you think? Probably a boring idea, huh?

R+R please.

Thank you everyone. :)

Tenshi


	18. Moonflow and Macalania

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : The full title for this is called **Moonflow Fluff and Macalania Memories**, but it was too much to fit on the title box. LOL.

Yeah, it includes the Thunder Plains and Guadosalam, but nothing really happens there...so...ignore them? They're mostly just fillers. Darn I am out of it! LOL.

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(Moonflow)

Walking along the bank of the moonflow, I was once again struck by the peace and serenity of the area. It was a clear, sunny day and the warm rays of the sun shone down on the still waters below. As I watched, I could see the odd bird skimming along the surface of the river, and the moonlilies looked so pure and white. There was a faint breeze that ruffled my skirt and hair, that smelled of the sweet scent of the flowers, and people were walking along quietly, enjoying the place.

I noticed Blake was smirking, before he dashed off and ran into some bushes. I felt my eyes narrow as I stopped walking and waited for him, wondering what he was doing.

A few minutes later, and I heard a yelp and loud splash, before a drenched Blake came wading out of the water with a sheepish, embarrassed and triumphant look on his face. He walked over to me with one hand behind his back and shrugged helplessly before pulling the hand out and giving me three beautiful moonlilies he'd picked for me.

I felt my jaw drop as I took the amazing flowers with wide eyes, brimming with tears. I couldn't believe how sweet he was! He'd gotten soaked, just to get me some flowers? Smiling at him, I leaned forward and carefully gave him a chaste kiss before pulling back and giggling as he wrung the water out of his shirt. "Thanks Blake." I aid quietly as I pet the petals of the flowers and inhaled their beautiful scent. "They're amazing." I breathed softly.

He used his garment grid to change into his Warrior before shaking his head and puling me close. "They're nothing compared to you." he whispered in my ear.

Blinking a moment, I felt myself blush and giggled again as I kissed his cheek. I couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into him that he was being so sweet. Well, I wasn't going to question it.

Hearing a chuckle, I looked over and noticed Dustin with his hands in front of his mouth, trying not to laugh, and Cassie was laughing silently. I felt like my head was going to explode from embarrassment at that point. I'd totally forgotten they were there!

"Can we get going now? Or...should we leave the two lovebirds alone?" Cassie put in with a grin.

"Hey!" I called, mock glaring at them. Taking Blake's hand, we ran over as I held the flowers close and huffed in their faces. "I heard that!"

"You were probably meant to." Dustin pointed out with a laugh. "You should probably put those in your pouch so they don't get lost." he said, raising an eyebrow at the flowers.

Opening my pouch, I put them in near the phoenix downs and mega-phoenixes, knowing that area of the pouch was safest. I mean, the healing items were _feathers_, so they were really fragile, but there, they were safe from harm, so the moonlilies would be too.

Once I was done, I looked at Blake and smiled warmly before we continued on.

We hadn't made it too far before we came across Tobli again, running around in a panic. Raising an eyebrow, I sighed. _So much for the peace and quiet._ I thought to myself as we approached.

"But the tickets aren't selling!" he cried once he saw us.

I blinked in surprise and wondered whatever happened to 'hello' and 'how are you?'.

"We'll end up with an empty house! That's like a full house, but with none of the people!"

I really wanted to laugh at that moment but bit my lip hard to keep from it. This guy really had a penchant for stating the obvious.

"What will you say? Will you help me?"

Before I could even open my mouth to ask what he was talking about, he continued rambling on. "Sell tickets, that is. I'll cut the base price in half! Just sell, sell, sell, for big, big profits!"

We all waited a moment before realizing he was done talking and Dustin was the first to speak up. "Ohh! Come on, Tori! Let's give it a shot!" he called excitedly.

I nodded immediately. "Ok, sounds like fun!" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to take them back. Exactly _what_ about selling tickets to a concert, was fun??

"With the Gullwings in charge, we'll sell out for sure!" Tobli cried extatically. "Imagine the crowds!" Handing us ten tickets, he nodded. "The rest is up to you."

We ran off immediately. Blake and I ran down the road to Djose with five of the tickets and Cassie and Dustin ran towards the Shoopuf with the rest. Together, we managed to sell all ten tickets and make a profit of 10, 000 gil. I was excited as we ran back to Tobli to tell him the news.

"Well, did you sell? The tickets, I mean."

"You better believe it!" Dustin cheered, handing him his half of the money.

I nodded and handed him my half as well. "Every last one!"

"Splendid! Simply splendid!" he cried happily. "Did you hear that everybody?" he asked, turning briefly to the hypello before turning back to us. "Oh yes, oh yes! Before I forget, I've got to pay you your profits!"

I blinked in surprise as he handed me 5 000 gill and nodded slowly. As much as it appeared, with how expensive everything was, 500 gil was probably more equivalent to about 500 earth dollars. But still, that was quite a bit of money to be handing us for running around and selling tickets.

Hesitantly accepting it, I nodded my thanks and bowed my head.

Cassie raised an eyebrow and shrugged a little. "I guess it's worth trying anything." she said, referring to what we did and the money we earned.

"Yup, yup! It was an absolutely amicable arrangement. Everybody's happy!"

Dustin nodded happily. "We're really looking forward to the show!"

With that final farewell, we left the moonflow, heading to Guadosalam. We knew Cassidy had her chateau there, and we still hadn't found any uniforms! With a shake of my head, I vowed silently to myself to think of something.

(Guadosalam)

As we walked into the bustling town, I noticed that many more people were there this time. Again, not one Guado could be seen, but from what I was looking at, this seemed like the meeting place for many sphere hunters from all over Spira.

Walking past sever sphere hunters, we made our way towards the chateau. You might be surprised, but Cassidy made her home in the mansion that until two years ago, housed the Guado Maesters of Yevon. It had been Lothor's home back then and approaching the building now, I felt the same shiver of dread run down my spine. I had to remind myself that Lothor was dead, but it did little to comfort me, knowing we'd have to enter the building sooner or later.

Before we could enter, we were stopped by two of her famous goons in green.

"Oh look, the Dullwings." the first one spoke up, mocking us as we stood there. "You're not getting in here, hear?"

Frowning, I resisted the urge to knock them out, knowing full well that this was their turf and there was no way we'd win a battle against them. "But Cassidy broke into our airship!" I cried, frustrated. I couldn't believe anyone would want to willingly follow her, but I guess it was to be expected.

"Anything goes for the great Cassidy." he said with a shrug and shake of his head.

Closing my eyes tightly, I turned and walked away, knowing the others would follow me. I kind of knew this would happen, but it still made me so _mad_!

Leaving Guadosalam, we made our way to the Thunder Plains to keep searching for uniforms.

(Thunder Plains)

As we crossed the forever storming area, I noticed how the towers seemed to be attracting more lightning as usual. Maybe, it was due to the few Al Bhed mechanics that I noticed under them, fiddling with something.

I think...they were calibrating the towers. All I knew was that every so often, the magneticism that kept the lightning going for the towers would fade, and the mechanics were there to fix it. Kind of like a wind up clock, if you would. Whenever it wound down, you'd have to wide it again to get it going.

Making it to just past the agency, I noticed a figure standing by a large body of water and walked over, blinking in surprise when I noticed it was Cid. Walking over in surprise, I notice he seemed pretty...I don't know. Pissed? Hurt? I winced a little as I walked right up to him.

"Uncle Cid? What're you doing here?" I asked innocently.

He rubbed his bald head and pouted at me before shaking his head. "What? Ya Blind? I'm tryin' to sulk here!" he shot back.

Dustin frowned and shook his head. "Come on, Tori, let's go!"

I turned to him in confusion and cocked my head to the side. "But..."

"Leave him!" my Al Bhed cousin ordered sternly.

Hesitantly, I walked back over to the others and took Blake's hand as we walked on. We made it to the entrance of the Macalania woods before Dustin turned to me with an irritated sigh.

"It's Zanarkand. He's all bent out of shape 'cause you told him off."

"That's mature." Cassie said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

Continuing on, I wondered if the thing with Zanarkand was really worth making such a huge fuss over.

(Macalania Woods, Blake's POV)

Entering the Macalania woods, I bit my lip as I noticed how dull and solemn the once lively forest had become. We splashed through the soaked path, towards the trees, and I noticed that the glowing path that led up into the braches, seemed a lot duller than it used to be.

It broke my heart to know that such a beautiful, peaceful place was fading away. To be honest, when Tori told me about it a short while ago, I thought it was some twisted joke. I knew Tori wasn't like that, but I couldn't bring myself to willingly believe that the forest was disappearing.

We shared our first kiss here.

I don't even remember much about how it happened. I just remembered that Tori was crying and I felt something snap. One minute I'm standing next to her, trying to convince her to give up her pilgrimage, and the next, I'm kissing her. It was a out of the blue thing, but even after everything that happened, I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

Now that I was back, I just wanted to spend every waking moment with her. I just wanted to make her smile and show her how much I loved her. Two years without her, and my love for her only grew stronger.

I felt my face warm up at remembering how I tried to lean over a shallow area of the moonflow. I'd seen some moonlilies near the shore and wanted to pick them for her, but when I got near them, I realized they were just a little bit farther than I thought. So I thought it was smart to grab a branch that leaned out over the water, from a decrepit looking tree, and trust my weight to it as I leaned out.

Big mistake.

I ended up falling in face first and getting soaked. But on the bright side, I got the flowers.

The look on her face had been worth it. I felt embarrassed, but the amusement and laughter in her eyes made it worth while. And then the pleasant shock when I gave her the flowers.

It made my knees feel weak to see that look on her face and I would give anything to see it all the time. So, here I was, walking beside her and reminincing about everything that happened.

I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed the hypello in front of us, until it spoke up, making me jump in surprise.

"Hello, Gullwings. Good to shee yoo." he said pleasantly, with a weary look in his eyes.

Dustin's eyes lit up with recognition and he smiled. "Oh, it's Tobli's assistant."

"Would yoo mind doing ush a favor?" he asked hesitantly.

I knew well enough by now what Tori's answer would be.

"What kind of favor?" Cassie asked warily.

I also knew well enough by now to expect that too.

The hypello sighed and lowered his head. "The Chief's holding a feshtibble. Shinging and danshing, and shellabebration? We're sheeking musishuns for a troupe, yesh? Where could they be?"

"So, you want us to help you find them?" I asked curiously.

"We ish counting on yoo, Gullwings?" he asked hopefully.

Tori looked at me and I smirked at her. Returning my smirk, she turned back to the hypello and nodded. "Sure, why not?"

He sighed and a relieved smile came over his face. "Thank yoo. If yoo find musishuns, give them this letter, yesh?" he asked while giving us a neatly folded letter.

Nodding to him, we walked past and headed down the path. We made our way to the clearing where the Guado stood, noting that many less Guado were there now and that Tromell was gone. In his stead, a large creature stood by a tree off to the side. I recognized him as Bayra, one of the musicians that Tori told me about.

Walking up to him, he eyed us warily before sighing. "What business do you have with me?" he asked in his deep yet gentle voice.

"We have a letter from someone named Tobli." Dustin said as Tori pulled out the said letter and handed it to him.

As he read it, Tori sighed. "Do you think you can help us?" she asked kindly.

He sighed and shook his head. "I must speak with my friends. It is not right for me to decide for them." he said evenly. Turning away from us, he played a few notes on his harp and closed his eyes. A moment later, and he shook his head, opening his eyes. "It is strange. I cannot hear their voices. Their minds must be closed." he mused out loud.

I raised an eyebrow at that. Tori had said that they tended to speak telepathically, but I still found it a little strange.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked with confusion.

"The spirits of my friends often become butterflies and drift through the woods. If it is no trouble, why don't you seek them out and ask them yourself?"

Heading back out, we walked along until we came to the pond where Tori and I shared our kiss. Well, kisses, really. I felt myself blush as Cassie raised an eye at me slyly, and firmly looked away, noticing another creature, only this one had drums on it's sides and belly. This must've been Donga.

"Huh? What can I do for ye?" he asked with a distinctly scottish accent as he turned around and noticed us.

"Well..." Tori began to explain the situation, and by the time she was done, he nodded emphatically.

"Ay, ay! I can help ye. If it's music tha ye're after, joost leave it tae me and the lads!" he cheered before disappearing.

With that, we headed back down the path through the trees until we came upon a small, female creature with a horn. Pukutak, if I remembered right. Raising my eyebrow, I remembered when Tori told me all this and I'd laughed at the descriptions and names. A little over two years ago, if anyone had told me about life on another world, or any of these places or things, I probably would've laughed and called them insane.

As she turned around, she jumped a little. I hadn't noticed it before but she had been transparent with a few butterflies floating around her, until she saw us. Them she solidified and the butterflies disappeared.

"Oh dear, oh my, you startled me. Whatever could the problem be?" she asked with concern in her eyes.

That was one thing I knew Tori loved about these creatures. As unusual as they looked, they spoke gently and created such beautiful music. Even I had to admit that this one had a soothing voice.

"You see..." Tori once again explained everything that was going on, and once she was done, Pukutak blew on her horn and nodded softly, a joy lighting up in her eyes.

"No, I do not mind at all! We'll play our songs and have a ball!" she cheered excitedly as she disappeared.

Heading back to the main spring, we noticed the three musicians were standing nearby and chatting. As we approached, Bayra turned to us with what I could only describe as a smile.

Hey, you try explaining expressions on the face of a bird!

"My friends do not seem to object. We will help your Tobli." he said with a nod.

Pukutak smiled as well. "We shall present a great event!"

"We will give 'em all a real gas, ye'll see, eh?" Donga finished.

Bayra seemed to sadden a bit. "Yes, it will be a brilliant finale for our doomed kind."

I really didn't like the sound of that. "Doomed?" I repeated confusedly. I saw Tori wince a little and look pained and wondered what she hadn't told me.

Pukutak sighed. "If only all the Fayth had stayed, the woods would never ever fade..." she said sadly.

"But it looks like we'll be meetin' our end someday soon..." Donga added.

It hit me then that without their home, their hope faded as well. I could see the defeat in their eyes. It told me that they _could_ move on if they chose, but they planned to sit back and let themselves die.

Honestly, I didn't know what to say. I left with the others and headed back to the exit of Macalania, going to the Calm Lands next. I chanced a glance at Tori and noticed she seemed subdued. I wished I could cheer her up, but seriously had no idea how to.

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Hmmm...Blake and Tori fluff anyone?? LOL. I got bit by the fluff bug and HAD to do a sweet scene if it killed me. Please don't be angry. :P The kinda cute part of Blake falling in the water was just a little bonus that hit me. :)

I hope you like it.

For those of you wondering if Hunter or Shane will come back at all, they will. Little bits here and there, but they will. And then in the ending...unusual reunion? Those words seem to fit what I have in mind pretty well. :)

For those of you wishing to skewer me for having Kimberly and Tommy break up, or for not having Andros and Ashley together...well I'm sure Tommy/Kim should have a happy ending. The other two? It depends on what I can work out. :P That'll be a challenge.

OH! And the preview quote?

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"Hey, if there were more of these little guys, you think the place would empty out?" Dustin asked mischieviously.

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Honestly, I'm bored. LOL.

Anyways, R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	19. Sphere Hunters to Monkey Breeders

**Disclaimer** ; I don't own anything.

**Note** : Getting to the Zanarkand section, I laughed my butt off in writing it. Most of the conversation after Billy left was made up by yours truly, as there was no description of the event or lines spoken during it.

**JuseaPeterson** - This is the chapter I was telling you about, with the monkeys. LOL. I did this all from my mind as I went. I hope you like it.

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(Calm Lands, Tori's POV)

As we climbed the small hill to the lookout that stood over the edge of the Calm Lands, we were shocked into stopping as Cole ran by us to stand at the edge. Blinking a moment, I shook my head as I walked up and noticed him staring at the small path that led to the side of the Calm Lands, to a separate area, and looking like he was in a daze.

"This is it." he muttered quietly. "Something tells me this is where I'll find my calling." Turning to me, he smiled and bowed. "I am in your debt, Lady Tori."

He turned and ran off across the Calm Lands, heading to the path at a speed that was surprisingly fast for someone who couldn't ninja streak.

In turn, we decided to go down ourselves and took our time making our way to the Travel Agency. It didn't take long, as we didn't go to any of the games, and as we entered, I noticed two Ronso children standing nearby.

As they saw us, they walked over and the slightly taller one bowed to me. He wore blue armor as the other wore green.

"High Summoner Tori, I am Lian Ronso." the taller one introduced himself. I must've looked confused, because he shook his head. "We have not met." he explained.

Nodding my head, I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lian." Turning to his friend, and inclined my head politely. "And this is...?"

"Ayde Ronso." Lian responded.

"Nice to meet you, Ayde." I said.

He grunted and nodded in response, giving me the idea that he wasn't the talkative type.

"We are happy to meet you." Lian spoke up. "Lian and Ayde hear many stories of High Summoner Tori. Elder Kelk tells of times he crossed paths with you. But please, do not tell Elder Kelk of meeting us today." he pleaded.

"Why not?" Blake asked curiously.

Dustin snapped his fingers and an enlightened look came over his face. "Oh! You must be the kids who left Mt. Gagazet, right? Kelk's been really worried about you!" he scolded them.

Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and turned to me. "Should we take them back?"

I paused a moment with my back to them, so I didn't see them walking offas I replied. "Yes." I said simply.

"Too late!" Dustin squealed, making me spin around.

"What?" I questioned as I noticed them running across the plains. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and shook my head._ So much for catching them this time._ I thought sarcastically.

"They can really move!" Dustin stated, impressed as we watched them disappear.

Shaking my head, my attention was drawn to the short path to the cave, that Cole had taken. Without a words, I started off in that direction, planning to see what he was up to and making sure he was ok.

Walking through the path, I noticed him with his head on a medium height pedestal as he banged his fist on the wall. Pulling back, he shook his head and held it in his hands. "Aww, man! _Now_ what am I supposed to do? I was sure this would be the perfect place, but...it's infested with fiends!" he cried.

Cassie turned to me and rolled her eyes. "I get the feeling he wants something." she deadpanned seriously.

"If only there weren't any fiends in there! I was so close, so close!" he shouted angrily.

Sighing, I grabbed my guns and headed inside. I remembered hearing about this place. Two years ago, a man used it as a monster arena. Travellers would go all over Spira to catch fiends, and they'd be placed here for breeding and training. It was no wonder it was still full of fiends. Many had taken a liking here.

It was grueling. We fought many tough battles, and had to use a good amount of healing items and magics throughout the mission to clear out the cave. We kept Blake as a back up, healing the group as we fought. It wasn't that I didn't trust his fighting capabilities, but we were more experienced and I didn't want anything happening to him.

We defeated five sets of fiends. Large cat-like ones that could turn you to stone with one touch of their tentacles that grew from their cheeks. A few flans of moderate ice damage. Those really hurt, byt the way! Some giant floating eyes, some heavily armored fiends that Blake was worried about. I kind of forgot we had the Armor Break ability in our warrior dresspheres, allowing us to weaken it's protection. And lastly, some black elementals that were good for casting high level magics on us.

In tht last battle, I thought we weren't going to make it. As we finally brought the last one down, Dustin was barely concious, Cassie was badly hurt, I was panting and in extreme pain, and Blake was exhausted but moving as fast as he could to heal us up.

Dustin turned to me as the last elemental faded and pouted. "Ouch." he said simply.

"That was bad." I agreed.

Cassie rolled her eyes and grunted in pain. "Well...that certainly wasn't dull." she said as she downed a potion.

Cole came running in as we made our way to the exit and smiled at us. "Oh, thank you so much!" he cried happily. "At last, my dream can come true!"

"Umm...what dream?" I asked as I straightened up.

"Why, I'm going to start a chocobo ranch! No one will bother me here. I can finally raise chocobo's in peace."

With a raised eyebrow, I slowly nodded. "Well, good luck." I said as we made to leave.

Just as we got to the entrance, his depressed cry reached our ears and I closed my eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

"Oh, no! I can't raise anything without a chocobo!" he cried in despair.

Cassie smirked before turning serious and turning to face him. "You've got your work cut out for you then."

Shaking my head, I walked back over and he explained the situation. Giving us a large green plant that smelled really minty, he told us that if we could catch a chocobo, he could train it for us.

Nodding slowly, I turned and walked out of the cave, biting my lip and feeling like an idiot. We're supposed to be sphere hunters, but lately, we've been spending more time doing odd jobs than anything else. Let's see...bodyguards, selling tickets, hunting down people, tracking down kids, and chocobo hunting?

_Well, at least I can't complain about having nothing to do._ I thought idolly as we made our way around the Calm Lands.

Soon enough, we encountered a chocobo with some fiends and as the others fought and defeated them, I walked calmly over to the wild chocobo with the green in hand. Feeding it to the large golden bird, I smiled and pet his beak before taking him back to Cole who was extatic.

Leaving him to his job, we returned to the Celsius which took us to Zanarkand. Thinking about how it had been turned into a tourist attraction, I began to feel depressed again. As much as I didn't want to go down, I knew we'd have to.

(Zanarkand)

Walking to the old campfire, I noticed there were still a lot of people there and sighed sadly. "Looks like business is...booming." I grumbled.

"What is pop thinking?" Dustin demanded quietly, anger evident in his eyes.

Walking to the temple, we stopped when we noticed Billy just inside. Going up to him, I decided to play it polite and offered him a weak smile.

"Well, hello." he said with a forced smile of his own.

"How's work?" Dustin asked in his almost always chipper voice.

Sighing, Billy shrugged a little. "It's a neverending struggle. As you can see, the monkeys have been multiplying and they are harassing tourists. We had to close down." he said dejectedly.

I perked up a little at this news and watched as a couple of monekys chased each other around his feet before running off.

Dustin snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess this'll teach pops a lesson." he said pointedly.

Billy shook his head. "Cid's not here anymore. After your last visit, he dropped everything and took off. I don't know where to." He looked around and sighed. "Well, I must be going."

He left the dome and I looked down at a monkey that stopped by my feet. Bending down, I looked at the little thing and giggled at how cute it was. "Now you behave yourselves." I said with a smile as I watched it sqeak and run off.

Standing up straight, I turned to Blake who was grinning and raised an eyebrow. "What?" I asked cluelessly.

Shaking his head, he turned and watched as the monkey tried to jump up on some debris that was way too tall, and chuckled as it fell to land on it's face. Coming over to me, he whispered so Dustin and Cassie wouldn't hear him. "Not much. It's just that, that monkey kinda reminded me of earth's Dustin."

Watching as the monkey tried repeatedly to jump on the debris, I couldn't help but laugh. "I see what you mean." I told him just as quietly. The said monkey _did_ have some rather...airhead-like qualities.

"Hey!"

Turning our heads, we noticed Dustin grinning as he looked at the monkeys. "If there were more of these little guys, you think the place would empty out?" he asked mischieviously.

Cassie grinned and nodded. "It just might." she agreed in a suggestive tone as she eyed me.

Grinning, I nodded. "Alright then. Let's pair up some monkeys!" I agreed.

Blake laughed out loud behind us and we turned around. He saw us looking at him in confusion and shook his head. "From sphere hunters to monkey breeders?" he asked before laughing again.

I blinked a moment before giggling. "Aye mate." I said in my best Australian accent. "Them be some rare...ummm..." Losing the facade, I looked at him and shrugged helplessly. Shaking my head, I grabbed a monkey as it raced by and held the strugglnig creature in my arms until it calmed down. Wrinkling my nose at the smell of the creautre, I sighed and handed it to Blake, who held it at arms length with a rather unhappy look.

"Umm...thanks?" he offered weakly as he wrinkled his own nose at the smell and held it even farther away.

Laughing at him, I walked towards the stairs that led farther into the temple and grabbed another monkey, handing it to Dustin, who promptly began petting it and cooing to it.

I watched in amusement as Blake looked at the monkey with a raised eyebrow, before grinning. "Hunter!" he called excitedly.

Blinking for a moment, I narrowed my eyes and walked over to look at the monkey. Looking at it's obviously unhappy face, I could easily tell it was the broody type and laughed as well. "Good call." I told Blake with a grin before kissing his cheek and walking over to grab another monkey.

I was about to hand it to Cassie when she grabbed her own by the scruff of it's neck and held it up in front of her. With a raised eyebrow, I laughed, realizing, she'd grabbed 'Dustin'.

Walking over, I explained to her the name thing, and she smirked as she continued to hold the struggling creautre by the back of it's neck.

Dustin took a good look at his monkey before grinning and turning to us. "Sky." he said simply, turning the monkey around so we could all look at the fuming face.

We all broke out laughing as I held my monkey and Dustin looked at it. Looking down, I saw a rather cocky look in it's eyes and laughed as Dustin said, "Marah, obviously."

Taking our monkeys, we travelled back and forth through Zanarkand temple and paired them up with corresponding monkeys. I thought it was cute how almost every pair would take to each other immediately. I think, possibly, the only exceptions to that rule, were 'Sky' and a female monkey. He sat and groomed himself as she sat and squeaked at him excitedly.

Then there was 'Marah'. Surprisingly, she matched up to the monkey Cassie was holding, 'Dustin'. While 'Dustin' jumped excitedly around her, she just walked off seemingly not paying any attention to him, and it made our group laugh as they realized the irony. Well, besides Dustin who didn't get what we were laughing about.

It was now Blake's turn to grab a monkey, and looking at it, he promptly passed it to me with a rather disturbed look on his face. Echoing his earlier statement, I raised an eyebrow and held the monkey away from me. "Uhh...thanks?"

Shuddering a bit, he gestured to the monkey and blinked a moment. "Kinda disturbing who that reminds me of." he said simply.

Looking down, I noted the evil gleam in the black eyes and the long black fur on the back of it's neck. Shivering a bit as well, I promptly dropped the monkey and stomped my foot to scared it off.

"What did you do that for?" Dustin asked with a pout.

Walking over to Blake, I shivered again and wrapped myself in his arms for a moment. "Lothor." was all I said in disgust as I leaned into the warm, welcome embrace.

Dustin walked over with another monkey and looked at me in concern. "You ok?" he asked softly.

Nodding, I turned to the monkey he held and laughed so hard, Blake had to hold me up from falling over. "Sensei!" I cried as I pointed to it.

Looking at it a moment, Blake saw the wisdom in it's eyes and the way it looked like it could understand us. It was also holding a little stick, and he busted up laughing as well.

I was sure the same thought was running through both our minds about how our guinea pig Sensei, was now a monkey.

Next, I grabbed a female monkey that immediately jumped on my head and began grooming me. I felt my face heat up and my jaw drop and quicky reached up to remove it, thought Blake had to help as it took a good handful of my hair in the process.

"Kelly." I said simply, thinking of the energetic redhead that Hunter was married to.

Blake raised an eyebrow and snorted a laugh. "Better not let _our_ Kelly hear you name a monkey after her." he pointed out with a grin as he finally got the monkey to let go.

Blinking for a moment, I laughed at the amused and offended look the owner of Storm Chargers would give me if she ever found out. It was a really good thing I didn't work for her, because if I had and she found out, I'd be in deep trouble! Still, I couldn't help but keep laughing as Blake held the clueless monkey in his hands.

Perhaps not surprisngly, she went after Hunter the moment she saw him, and again we laughed.

I felt myself bite my lip though, when Cassie picked up a sweet little monkey and handed it to me with a smirk. I took in the innocent eyes, and Cassie laughed quietly. "Tori." she said simply, and I felt my jaw drop as I stared at her.

"Hey!" I cried in protest. Looking at it though, I couldn't help but feel my heart melt at how adorable the thing seemed. Big innocent eyes and a sweet little monkey smile as she snuggled into my arms. It kind of made me want to keep her.

Dustin picked up another and brought him close, and immediately, the male jumped on my shoulder and pulled the female out of my hands before rushing off, making me blush deeply. "Blake." he put in with a laugh.

Blake's jaw dropped this time before he turned to the monkeys and grinned.

We finished up pairing the monkeys in record time and headed out of the temple, still talking and chuckling at the event as we boarded the Celsius and headed to Djose. I think the first thing we did though, was to all go take showers to get the smell of monkey off us.

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Hahaha! That was cute...well, to me anyways. LOL. I was going for the croc hunter when I had Tori get the Australian accent, but my mind went blank as to what to say. I loved the whole fitting the name to the monkey, but I couldn't think how to describe others, so just left it at this.

Oh God! I couldn't help but laugh as I wrote this. LOL. I really hope you like it.

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"These meanies won't give me back the sphere!"

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Please R+R and let me know what you think.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	20. Liberating Uniforms

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ahhh! I've been bitten by the fluff bug! LOL. Sorry everyone, but I can't seem to help but add a little Tori/Blake fluff in whenever I can. I'm trying to keep it from getting TOO sappy though, and making sure to keep it around 'T' rating.

**ThunderBrosRule27** - Hunter and Shane will make _very_ brief appearances to speak here and there at some point. But the main interaction will be at the ending when I have Tori and Blake return to earth. I'm glad you liked the monkey chapter, and this fic. LOL.

Kinda of a side note... Thanks to  for allowing me to borrow some battle quotes for this fic. I don't own them, but I think most people already know that if they know I'm working from a script.

And thanks to  For the script I followed for this fic.

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(Djose)

Walking away from the teleport sphere by the Djose temple, we were still in discussion about the monkeys.

"I still say we should've kept 'Hunter'." Blake said as he pouted beside me. Then, grinning mischieviously, he wrapped an arm around my waist. "Well, 'Hunter' and 'Tori' that is."

Giggling, I shook my head. "I would've loved keeping 'Blake'." I teased back. It was a little embarrassing to be talking about keeping pet monkeys and such, but it was kind of funny too.

Dustin snorted a laugh and shook his head. "I would've loved to keep Marah, just so I could give it to her and watch her face when I introduced them." he said with a sadistic smirk.

Laughing, I stopped short as we entered at the end of Mushroom Rock road, between Djose and the road to the Moonflow. Pushing Blake and Dustin behind a large pile of rocks, Cassie rushed to the other side of the path, and we peaked out around the rocks to watch what was going on.

Two pink clad goons of Cassidy's were walking slowly in our direction before stopping and looking around with helpless shrugs.

That's weird. Where did we drop that thing?" The first one asked as she scratched the side of her head. "We gotta find that sphere, or the boss'll be furious! We might even...get the heel!" she cried in a panic as she turned to her friend.

The second goon shook her head and sighed. "Why don't you stop complaining and help me look?" she suggested in irritation.

As they walked off back down the path, I grinned and walked out from behind the rocks. Turning to the others, I tilted my head a bit. "Hey, did you hear that? I say we find it first!" I said excitedly.

Cassie raised an eyebrow and turned to Duston. "Someone's turning Tori into a bad girl." she said simply.

Dustin in turn, spun around with wide eyes. "Who?" he cried in shock.

Walking down the path, we kept a close eye our for a sphere. We weren't sure what it would look like, like if it would be orange or red, but we tried to keep an eye out for flashes of either color, just in case. We must've made our way down a little over half the path, when I looked behind a jutting rock and noticed the familiar orange glow.

Picking it up, I turned back to the others, gasping a little at the sheer power running through it. I easily recognized this sphere as one of the rare type that only worked for one person and by the way it was reacting in my hands, I figured it must've been mine.

Seeing the confused looks I was getting from the others, I nodded. I already know the name of this dressphere. "Floral Fallal." I told them, and noticed how they nodded in understanding. I'd taken the time, shortly after Cassie got her Full Throttle, and tried to explain the rare spheres to Blake.

In turn, he told me that they were likely ultimate dresspheres then, or something, and I realized he was right. They were some of the most powreful powers out there, and only worked for one person. It made perfect sense.

Dustin took the sphere carefully and looked at it closely as I turned, and let out another gasp as I came face to face with Bulk.

"So _that's_ where it was!" he said in a surprisingly kind tone. "Sorry for the trouble. I appreciate yous finding it for us though." he said as he smirked and held his hand out for the sphere.

Dustin took a single step backwards and glared at him as he handed the sphere to me and I put it in my Garment Grid.

"What? You're not going to give it back?"

Shaking my head, I glared at him as I myself took a step back.

His eyes shot wide open and his jaw dropped. Narrowing his eyes, he glared at us. "The nerve!" he cried in shock.

"The Gullwings!" came Skull's voice as he walked over with his guns drawn.

Shaking his head, Bulk threw him a pathetic glance. "These meanies won't give me back the sphere!" he cried.

Shrugging, Skull didn't look the least bit bothered by that. "So, then we take it back." he said easily as he smirked.

"Ah!" Bulk looked enlightened and grabbed a big round shield from his back, with really sharp edges.

"And on that note..." Skull aimed his guns and took a step forward. "Take. It. Back!"

Blake quickly grabbed his sword and expertly dodged and blocked every shot aimed at him. Twirling his sword twice over his head, he brought his arm back and I noticed the navy energy swirling around the blade. Slicing in a downard in front of him, he shot the energy at Cassidy's goons and knocked them back a bit.

Two pink clad goons had joined the battle just before his attack and they were immediately knocked out by the hit, leaving us with Bulk and Skull.

As Blake, Cassie and Dustin kept them distracted, I stripped the uniforms off the goons and hid them behind some rocks, leaving the helpless women in their underwear. Once that was done, I turned around to find that Bulk had been weakened to the point to take him out of the battle, and joined the others in fighting Skull.

Once he too was gone, we cheered and sheathed/holstered our weapons as we watched them retreat. It was hilarious how the goons were running while using pink fans as cover. Bulk and Skull were too busy running to notice, but several men stopped and wolf whistled, making us laugh even harder.

Soon, they were out of sight and I went behind the rocks to grab the uniforms. We went back to the Celsius and tried them on, and luckily, they fit Cassie and I perfectly. Now, all we needed, was two green, male goon uniforms.

(Bikanel)

We teleported down the the desert island where all the digging was taking place and walked over to Syd. As soon as she saw us approaching, she got a relieved smile on her face, one that was quickly replaced with a worried frown as a machina scout flew over, wailing non stop.

"Tyrkih! Tyrkih! Cicbeleuic cekhym tadaldat! (Danger! Danger! Suspicious signal detected!)" it repeated, until Syd aknowledged it and it left.

"Before you start digging today, I'd really like you to go check out the Oasis for me. Some strange stuff's been washing up there lately. I'd appreciate it if you looked into it." she said pleasantly.

Nodding, we went over to the hover craft that took us out to our digging spots and spoke to the pilot.

"So, she's got you on another errand now, does she?" he asked with humor in his voice. "I heard there's been some weird folks hanging out around the Oasis. You sure you wanna go?"

I told him we were sure and he took us out to a large Oasis. It was so beautiful! A giant pond with a few plants and a rocky cliff on one side.

"You know, two years ago, this is where I woke up to first find you were gone." Blake said solemnly as he looked into the water.

Turning to him, I took his hand and squeezed it gently while smiling at him. "But you found me and saved me. And Blake..." I made him look in my eyes. "I'm here now."

Smiling a little, he gave me a light kiss on the forehead as he hugged me tightly. "Yeah, I know." he said quietly.

Suddenly, Dustin yelled, and we pulled apart to see him running over to a glowing sphere on the ground. When he picked it up and grinned hugely. "Machina Maw!" he cried as if finding something he recognized.

It hit me that, that must've been _his_ special dressphere.

"Well, fancy meeting you here."

Looking towards the top of the cliff, we noticed Skull and a male goon with him. Once he saw us watching, he began to do these...really _weird_ poses. "You can lead a Gullwing to water, but you can't make it drink." he stated.

"You know..." Blake started indifferently. Looking to me, he raised an eyebrow. "I've always wanted to drown my problems, but I can't seem to get this bozo to go swimming." he finished innocently.

Giggling, I shook my head and patted his shoulder lightly.

"Ummm..." Dustin was at a loss of words for a change as he put the dressphere in his Garment Grid.

Cassie smirked and checked out the male goon. "Say, that's a nice uniform." she said slyly as she grabbed her sword.

"Enough of this nonesense!" Skull cried as he and the goon jumped down.

Dustin grinned and stepped forward. "Let me deal with these guys!" he said confidently.

Blinking a moment, I noted the dangerous gleam in his eyes, and grabbed Blake and Cassie's arms, quickly pulling them back with me. I was kind of excited to see what he was about to do, but at the same time, worried for his safety.

"Activate mega-ultra, super-duper assault mode!" he cried as he hit the center button on his garment grid. A large circle in the ground under him, exploded, and he jumped in the air, slowly turning as his outfit was replaced with a skin tight silver body suit with a black zipper down the front and black designs on the sides and legs.

A giant Machina weapon of some kind burst out of the ground under him, and he fell to land in a piloting seat on it's back. The thing had two large legs and a heavily armoured body as the light faded.

I realized this was Dustin's Machina Maw dressphere. I could only stare in awe as Skull's face paled and the male goon automatically passed out from terror as he saw it.

Dustin moved his machina around so Skull was manovered with his back to us. As Cassie and Blake moved _well_ out of the way, I stripped the uniform, again, from the still body before running to join them.

"Verifying target!" Dustin called out as the missile launchers in the shoulders of the machine began to glow. Typing more on a panel in front of him, he smirked. "Ready? Fire!"

A large volley of missiles shot out and blew Skull into the air and well away from us. I knew Dustin could've destroyed him if he wanted, but my cousin wasn't the killing type unless it came to fiends.

He changed back to his thief and walked over to join us with an exhausted smile on his face. When he reached out side and saw the uniform I was holding, he jumped a little in the air. "Awesome!" he called.

Now, we only had one to go, and really, only one place left to look.

(Gagazet)

Walking up the snowy mountain of Gagazet, we once again found Kelk in the same place as usual, and approached him.

"Tori. Kelk sorry." he said gently.

"Sorry about what?" I asked cluelessly.

Shaking his head, he looked around at the other Ronso. "Kelk look for sphere for Tori, but Kelk not find sphere. Kelk disappoint Tori." he said sadly.

Smiling softly, I shook my own head. "It's all right, Kelk. Of course I'm happy you tried to help, but..." Taking a page out of their book, I grinned wryly. "Tori has to take care of Tori problems."

He seemed to cheer up slightly, and a knowing look came to his eyes. "Kelk search mountain a long time, but still one place left Kelk not look. Fayth Scar rises high on mountain. Scar is sacred ground which Ronso not tread."

"Might still be some spheres up there." Cassie finished for him.

"Summoners no longer climb mountain. Now, only sphere hunters come. Kelk worry hunters defile sacred ground." he said gravely.

"It could be Cassidy and her goons." Dustin put in thoughtfully.

Nodding, I got the hint of what he was getting at. "Maybe we should check. Is that ok?"

Kelk nodded. "Kelk trust Tori. Kelk not worry."

Using the teleportation pads on the mountain, that had only recently been activated, we made our way directly to the Fayth scar where we began to walk around amongst the cold mountain peaks.

"Must be up ahead." I mused to myself as we walked around a corner. If the vision before me hadn't been kind of scarey, it might've been really beautiful. On one side of us, a steep drop off laid, waiting for those to fall to their deaths, and the other, a high cliff with many climable spots. The cloudy sky shone down rays of light that lit up the cliff, showing off the bright green stone it was made of, and the occasional fiend romaed around.

As I took a step forward, I noticed a green clad figure leaping up the climbing spots and running along the upper ledge. Look!" I cried as two pink clad goons followed the green clad one.

Without a word, we too climbed ip the cliff and made our way along a narrow path. Soon, we came to a choice of a cave or another cliff, but I felt that waslking into the cave could very likely lead us into a trap so I insisted on the cliff, and we climbed again.

When we got to the top, we found ourselves on a large rock overlooking a steaming hot spring below, and the two female goons were bathing in one section and the male in the other. We watched silently as they rose and exited, dressing in extra sets of uniforms, and listened in to their conversation as the met up.

"That water felt great!" one groaned in relief as she rolled her shoulders. "Can you believe there's a hot spring in a place like this?"

The second woman looked around wildly. "But...isn't it supposed to be sacred ground? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." she said nervously.

Rolling my eyes, I sneered above them. _A little late to be thinking like that now._ I thought sarcastically.

"What? You think some Ronso boogieman is going to come get you?" the man snorted in disbelief.

The first female agreed with him. "Better that then the boss, if you know what I mean." she said gravely.

Suddenly, Ormi appeared behind them. "Hey! You three been slackin' off again?" he asked with a glare.

"N-No sir!" the first woman replied.

"That's right, sir." the second agreed. "We were just..uhh...getting ready for duty. We were just, trying to rejuvinate."

Suddenly, the rock we were standing on began to shake violently, and it let go, plummeting down to land in the deeper waters of the hot spring, causing the goons to scream and run as Bulk followed them with a terrified wail.

Breaking the surface of the water, I took a deep breath and looked around wildly, seeing the others all right and nearby. I looked down into the steamy, hot water and blinked in surprise. "What's this?"

"A hot spring?" Dustin asked curiously as he immediately knelt down in the hot water and sighed in relief.

"Were those Cassidy's goons?" Cassie asked on a different topic.

Dustin looked over to where they had been and grinned as he jumped up. "Look! They forgot something!" he cried.

Looking to where he was pointing, I smirked. It was a male uniform, folded crisp and clean. Just what we were looking for.

"That sure was easy." Dustin said with a grin.

Grinning cheekily, I turned to the others and tilted my head. "Well, as long as we're here..."

Dustin's jaw dropped at my comment. "On sacred ground?" he whispered in shock.

Blake raised an eyebrow and checked me out before grinning. "I'm up for it." he said agreeably.

Raising my own eyebrow back, I giggled. _I'm sure you are._ I thought as I checked _him_ out.

"No one's looking." Cassie put in as she took her sword off.

Cassie and I separated from the guys and stripped down to our swimsuits. I had a light blue bikini on with white trim around the edges, and Cassie had a dark pink one piece on.

When we went back to the guys, we found Dustin, who was wearing yellow trunks, floating on his back in the water, and Blake, who was in navy trunks, standing by the edge of the deeper section.

I stood behind him for a moment, silently enjoying the view, before I grinned mischieviously and snuck up behind him. Straightening up, I cleared my throat, and watched as he spun around and his jaw dropped as he saw me. I noticed that he blushed deeply and smiled shyly as he looked at me and grinned evilly in return. I almost couldn't keep back the giggle as I saw his smile melt away into a concerned look, but it was too late.

I raced the last few steps forward and jumped at him, knocking him into the water. What I hadn't expected, was for him to reach out and grab me by the waist, pulling me in with him.

As we broke the surface again, laughing, I shook my head and kissed his cheek. He responded by picking me up and carrying me over to the others, before sitting down and placing me in his lap.

Now it was my turn to blush, but I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his embrace.

Dustin grinned at us and crawled, yes _crawled_ over to us with an inquiring look on his face. "Hmmm...what have we here?" he asked teasingly.

I felt my face heat up even more and giggled nervously. "What?"

"Hmmm...whatever." he said with a small shrug as he grinned. "I know who's got it going' on."

"Excuse me!" I squeaked in embarrassment as I squirmed a bit under his stare.

Blake tightened his hold on me a bit and I looked up to see him looking away with a deep blush and felt my eyes widen as I realized something. Giggling again, I quietly apologized and carefully moved to sit in the water next to him, feeling like my face was going to explode by how red it was by now.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Dustin turned and began crawling over to Cassie who in turn shot her head around and glared at him angrily. "Stay away!" she ordered.

He cocked his head to the side and checked her out as he grinned. "Whoa-hoa!" he cried as he wated her.

"Wanna get hurt?" she asked in a deadly calm voice.

Turning his head to me, he grinned. "Hey Tor, you should come check Cassie out!" he called.

Jumping into a standing position, Cassie whirled on him with a venemous glare and stalked towards him. "That's it! It's hurt time!"

"You want some?" he shot back challengingly as he too jumped to his feet and be brought his fists up in front of him.

Grinning, I raised my hand as I jumped to my feet and laughed. "Oh! Let me help!" I cried as I ran over and slid my arms under Dustin's, locking his rams back so he couldn't defend himself.

"Where were we?" Cassie asks threateningly as she cracks her knuckles with a grin.

"I didn't mean it!" Dustin cried as he put his hands together in a praying motion.

"Too late!" Cassie and I chorused as she raced forward.

She grabbed his legs tightly and lifted him off the ground of the spring as I held his arms. Together we swayed back and forthe before tossing him into the deepter section with a laugh.

Suddenly, the com buzzed and I waded over to my com to pick it up. Brother's voice came through and I bit my lip to keep from groaning in irritation.

"Tori, what's all that noise?" he demanded.

Grinning, I looked at the others and shrugged. "Just taking a little dip." I said innocently.

"Y meddma dip! (A little dip!)" he whispered to himself. "Code...uhh...Pink!" he cried suddenly. "I am on my way!"

There was a loud bang on the other end, and I frowned, wondering if he fell out of his seat and knocked himself out or something. "Brother?"

Adam's voice came through with a sigh. "Don't worry, I knocked him out."

Thanking him, I turned off my com and walked over to the others. Dustin laughed and shook his head. "Maybe we should get out. I'm getting all pruney!" he said as he looked at his hands.

"I really needed that." I sighed as I rolled my shoulders, realizing how relaxed I felt.

We split up again to get dressed, before heading out into the path that led to the cave we had seen before. I realized just how good an idea it was to go the way we went, because we avoided getting caught and at the same time, got to listen in to their conversation. Granted, they hadn't said anything of importance, but it still came in handy.

As we walked down the path, one of the female goons appeared in front of us with a shake of her head, her partner right behind her.

"We'll be taking that uniform back." she said quickly.

The male goon appeared as well and sighed. "The boss'll never forgive us if we lose it." he said.

I grabbed my guns before letting out a sigh. I hit a button on my Garment Grid and changed into Gun Mage for a little difference. This outfit consisted of a blue and purple skirt that buttoned up on one side and came to mid thigh, and it lengthened in a curve to hang to my feet on the other. I was wearing knee high purple boots, and a light blue halter with a purple band across my chest.

I also had wrist length purple gloves and a strange looking gun in my hand, that I already knew would be more powerful than the others I was using.

Focusing the gun on the nearest goon, I smirked. "Prepare for a phantasmagoria of magical powers! Your abilities _will_ be mine!" I called. Blinking a moment, I giggled at the mouthful I'd just spit out before shooting the male goon.

Blake changed into his thief and grinned at the goons as he grabbed his daggers. "You got it, I'll steal it!" he called as he raced forward and stole a hi-potion from the goons. Turning to Dustin he laughed. "It's all in the wrist, huh?"

I blinked for a moment before the double meaning hit me and I burst into giggles, dancing around to avoid getting hit by magics. I shot again and the male goon fell unconscious.

Cassie smirked as she brought down one of the female goons, and Dustin laughed as he brought down the last.

As we stood there a moment, we couldn't help but laugh. As soon as we managed to get ahold of ourselves, we climbed over the small cliff in our path and exited the cave to find Bulk standing there with a frown.

"Lousy Gullwings! Fallin' down on people like that! You just gave me a little scare, that's all!" he said angrily.

Cassie snorted and rolled her eyes as she grabbed her sword. "For a 'little' scare, you sure took your time in coming back." she pointed out casually.

"Who asked you!" he shot back as he grabbed a gun.

I used my Gun Mage to fire on him as Blake stole a remedy from him. Cassie and Dustin worked together to attack him, and once they pulled back, Blake raced back in to do his own damage.

Bulk didn't last long and soon collapsed to his knees. Glaring at us, he sneered before getting up shakily and running off.

Another transmition came in, and I frowned and listened.

"This is Brother! How is everything?" he asked in an obviously upset voice.

Smirking into the air, I nodded. "Mission accomplished! We have the uniforms!"

"Roger! We're on our way!" he called back.

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Sorry. --' I think my mind's stuck in the gutter today. I hope this wasn't _too_ bad.

Anyways, I _think_ I'm close to the end of the second chapter of the game. To possibly explain...the main plot of the game obviously revolves around this mystery man in the spheres and this unknown force that Tori is dealing with (the dream and dancing without knowing why). A lot of the stuff I'm mentioning are parts of the script that I am following.

Personally, I've found that the _real_ action begins in chapter 3 and works through to chapter 4.

Anyways...yeah, I'm babbling. Sorry everyone.

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"Now I finally know the location of Vegnagun. Spira is in for a rough ride. Take care."

"Yes Love."

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Hope you liked this.

R+R please.

Thank you. :)

Tenshi


	21. Infiltrating Chateau Cassidy

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

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(Celsius)

Once we boarded the airship, we broke up to go our separate ways to change into the uniforms. As I got into mine, I couldn't help the feeling of dread that washed over me, as well as the questions.

"Why'd Cassidy need that broken sphere anyways?" I asked out loud. Was it only to show us up, or was it something more?

Heading to the bridge, I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling I'd gotten. I looked up as I entered the hallway and ran down it, flipping over the railing to stand on the bridge with the others, holding a large pink fan in front of my chest.

"Well?" I asked hesitantly. I felt really uncomfortable in such a tight outfit, and Brother's ogling wasn't helping, but I was determined to stick it out.

"Perfect!" Brother stated firmly as he turned to hop back into the pilot seat.

Dustin nodded behind his mask and laughed. "We're off to Chateau Cassidy!" he cried.

"Let's settle the score." Cassie said with a nod.

(Guadosalam)

Entering the city, I took a deep breath and proceeded forward with the others. Stopping just around the corner, out of sight of the guard goons, I turned to the others, a worried frown showing on my face, though my face was hidden by the mask. "What if...this doesn't work?" I asked softly.

Cassie snorted and shook her head. "Worry _after_ we're caught." she advised.

"Let's do this!" Dustin quietly cheered as he bounced a little in the green outfit.

As we walked up to the Chateau, the guards in front looked at us suspiciously and we stopped. We'd already figured out what to say, and only hoped it'd work.

"Reporting for duty!" Cassie and I chorused with forced enthusiasm.

"Th-Thanks?" one of the male goons offered in surprise.

Not waiting for another word, we headed inside and stood around the main floor. I found myself staring into the portrait of Jyscal that hung on the wall and felt my eyes narrow.

At the sound of a door opening, the others and I moved to the side of the large room and stood silently as two figures came out of the large room on the other end.

I felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw Carlos coming out with Cassidy at his side, staring at him like a lovesick puppy.

"Thank you, Cassidy." he said gravely as he limped across the room and to the front door.

She smiled and sighed. "Anthing for you, love." she said in a dreamy tone.

"Now, I finally know the location of Vegnagun. Spira is in for a rough ride. Take care." he said solemnly.

She sighed again. "Yes, love." she answered in that still dreamy voice.

As he walked out the door, her stare became more sad and her tone filled with pain. "Oh, how long must we be apart? These days without you are not easy on me, love." she said as she walked up the stairs and left the room.

Blinking in confused, I slowly shook my head and headed into the room she'd just come out of. Seeing Bulk and Skull in there, we walked up to them and waited silently as they spoke.

"The boss is a different person when that Carlos guy shows up, eh?" Bulk asked with an uneasy look on his face.

Skull snorted and sneered. "Suppressing her natural charm and acting like some housewife...she must be tense." He looked around the room before his eyes landed on us and he raised an eyebrow. "You! Go to the boss' chamber and see to your duties!" he ordered.

I felt my eyes narrow as I looked at him a moment. "What..duties?" I asked hesitantly.

"You know..." Bulk put in with a lecherous grin. "Use your talents to help her unwind."

Feeling my eyes widen, I turned and walked out of the room in shock. I wasn't sure what they were asking, but I _really_ hoped it wouldn't be what I thought it was!

Heading up the stairs, the goon standing guard looked at me as I stepped forward and nodded. "That time again, eh?" he put in with amusement. "Don't hold back."

I could swear I heard the grin in his voice.

We walked into the room, where Dustin, Cassie and Blake took up positions by the wall and I took a deep breath before walking into the center of the room. Cassidy was standing by a stone statue of Carlos and I raised an eyebrow, wondering just how obsessive she was.

Blowing a kiss to the statue, she turned around and stopped me, and an impatient look came over her face. "I'm waiting." was all she said as she laid down in the center of her bed on her stomach.

I was feeling horribly embarrassed, but at the same time, a little relieved it wasn't what I thought it was. Walking over, I climbed up on the bed and straddled her back, beginning a massage.

I had to idea what I was doing, but let her comments of 'watch where you're groping!', and 'eh, that's not it' lead me to the right places.

In no time, she relaxed a lot and let out a sigh. "Hmm, that is good. When did you get so good at this?" she asked softly.

"Umm...Uhh..I-I dunno." I spat out quickly.

"My Carlos-baby is such a manly man, don't you think? He can be blunt, but that makes the occasional smile all the more irresistable! That _godly_ smile...that's the whole reason I became a sphere hunter. Oh, if only there were some miracle sphere...something that could make him truly happy..." she let out a yawn. "What I wouldn't give..."

I bit my lip hard as I felt my body shaking a little. _Carlos-baby??_ Man, this woman had it bad! I heard her breathing steady out and chanced looking into her face, realizing she was asleep. "She fell asleep!" I blinked a moment before looking at my hands and climbing off the bed.

"I'm _that_ good?" I whispered to myself.

As I moved to stand with the others, Bulk and Skull entered and their looks turned disappointed as they saw that their boss was asleep. "The boss fell asleep again? One massage and she's out like a light." Skull groaned slightly.

"Wes been waitin' for her too, 'cause she had somethin' important to tell us." Bulk whined.

"We'll just have to keep waiting then." Skull sighed. Turning to us, he nodded. "In the mean time, you, go check to see if the button is still working!" he ordered.

"Uh, button?" I asked cluelessly.

"The back of the livingroom! The same one as always!" Bulk snapped.

Hurrying out of the room, we went back down to the livingroom and headed to the back. Splitting up, I found a panel and opened it to find a swtich on the other side. "I wonder what it does." I murmured before pressing it.

The large picture on the middle of the wall slid up and a blank wall was revealed behind it.

Dustin shook his head and walked over to it. "That's it? What a let down!" Pounding his fists on the wall, he took a step back and kicked roughly, only to have the wall slide to the side and he fell through, rolling head over heels into the hallway beyond.

"Dustin!" I cried as I ran forward.

"Who's idea was that?" he whined as he rubbed his rear end as he slowly stood up.

Cassie shook her head and sighed. "Take it up with the boss." she said in her trademark monotone.

Turning to her in confusion, I tilted my head. "Boss?"

"Uhhhh..." Shaking her head, she pulled the mask off and offered us a look of confusion and disgust. "I've been in this thing too long! Let's change!"

Changing back into our dressphere, I was back in Gunner and Blake in Warrior, with Dustin in Thief and Cassie in Warrior as well, we walked down the dimly lit underground path.

Rounding a corner, the coms suddenly blazed to life, making all our eyes widen. "This is Brother. How is everything?" Brother asked in a cheerful tone.

Dustin growled and hit his com angrily. "Brother!" he hissed. "Be quiet, this is a covert operation! Over and out!"

Unfortunately, rather than get the idea across, this only seemed to infuriate the Al Bhed. "Dustin! How dare you speak to your leader like that!" he shouted angrily, his voice echoing off the walls.

Giving up, Dustin yelled into his com. "Oh, shut up already!!"

"Huh? Who's there?" came Bulk's voice as he appeared behind us. Seeing us, he narrowed his eyes and grabbed his guns. "The Gullwings!"

Grabbing my own guns, I got ready for a battle while mentally planning out how I was going to torture Brother when we got back. "Cred! (Shit!)" I swore in Al Bhed, making the others look at me in shock. Blushing, I shook my head and aimed at Bulk, firing a few shots to remind them of the battle.

As Bulk surprisingly managed to dodge most of the bullets, and the rest bounced off the large shield he had, the others joined in the battle as well. Cassie grabbed her sword and charged it with lightning energy as she ran forward and cut him across his midsection.

Dustin ran forward and stole from him before doing a downward sweep with his daggers and knocking one of his guns out of his hands.

Blake took up the rear, following Cassie's lead and charging his own blade with navy thunder energy. But unlike Cassie, he didn't run forward to attack, but slashed his sword through the air at chest level, sending out a wave of navy energy that hit and knocked Bulk back.

Recovering from the attack, Bulk frowned before unleashing his own Trigger Happy. As we struggled to dodge the bullets, Dustin was hit in the thigh, causing him to fall to the ground with a pained yelp, and Cassie ran over to block the incoming bullets from hitting him with her sword. Blake got one in the arm and collapsed to his knees with a painful hiss as he dropped the sword and grabbed his injured arm, glaring at the fat man for hurting him like that.

When I saw Blake get hit, I immediately saw red and growled under my breath. I charged up my own Trigger Happy and attacked him ruthlessly as the others took the brief resting period to heal up. Once my attack was done, Dustin was on his feet and handing Blake a potion while Cassie stood in front of them like a guard.

As soon as she saw my attack was finished, she raced forward and hit Bulk again, causing him to stumble back. With a glare at us, he turned and retreated out of the room, and we relaxed our guard a little.

I wasn't stupid though, and knew he'd gone to get the help of Skull at the very least, if not Cassidy as well.

Once we were all healed up, we ran down the path until we came to a set of doors and a corner that led down another path to another door. Walking into the first room, I noticed it was small. It looked like more of a storage space than a bedroom, and the lack of bed confirmed it. But there was still a couch and a table, and resting on the table was a sphere. A red sphere.

"Hey, this isn;t the sphere they stole, is it?" Dustin asked cluelessly.

Raising an eyebrow at him, I kind of figured that was obvious. For one thing, the sphere they stole was orange and was only _half_ a sphere. This one was whole and was red. Shaking my head, I picked it up and held it in front of me. "Let's watch it." I suggested with a shrug as I hit the play button.

A dark area was shown. I didn't really know what to make of it, but as the sphere panned around, I noticed rock walls and debris on the ground, making it fairly clear that this had taken place in a cave of some sort.

I gasped in horror as I saw the numerous dead bodies lying around. Most were men, but there were also a few women and they were all dressed as warriors with swords and guns lying on the ground. Their bodies were coated with blood and they lay unmoving, with blank eyes staring into nothingness, showing they were dead.

And that's not all.

Pyreflies floated out of and around their bodies, as if lost and not knowing where to go. It looked like some kind of massacre had taken place there, and their souls were trapped from what I could see.

Then, the unmistakeable voice of Bulk came over the sphere and I felt my gut clench in horror.

"Let's see. Total survivors of the Crimson Squad selection exercise...zero, zilch and zippal. Job done." he said casually.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I wondered...did that make him the killer? I felt my eyes widen when I heard Skull's agitated voice reply.

"You pinhead. Did you even bother to count? Look, there are bodies missing. There should be three more candidates and their recorder."

Bulk sounded a little lost at that point. "Uh, your point?"

"Three and one makes how many?" Skull answered drolly. "Four still remain alive. Fix it."

"Figures." Bulk muttered.

As I watched the sphere, I felt this horrible confusion in my stomach. For all these men were, I honestly couldn't see them killing anyone. But...they didn't sound the least bit surprised by the sight, and they acted as though they had a part in this. What had happened?

"Did you say something?" came a vaguely familiar voice over the sphere.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to recall who it was, but their name and face just barely eluded me. I knew that I somehow _knew_ the person, but I couldn't figure out how or why.

"No sir! Pay him no mind!" Skull insisted loudly just as the sphere went black.

"It's a dud." Cassie said with thinly veiled fear and horror in her voice.

Pocketing the sphere, I failed to notice her tone and frowned as I tried to take this all in. Then, a voice at the doorway, made me jump and spin around.

"Only naughty girls sneak around in other people's rooms." Skull said pointedly from beside Bulk.

"What about you?" Dustin shot back. "You're the ones who broke into our airship!"

Shaking his head, Skull grabbed his guns, and a weakened Bulk followed his lead. "The boss' orders are permission enough." he said stonily.

Blake and I took on Skull as Dustin and Cassie took on Bulk. Aiming my guns, I got an idea and grinned. Hitting a button on my Garment Grid, I transformed into Songstress and grabbed the microphone before beginning a dance.

The effect was immediate and both our enemies were blinded by it. Twisting my head to Blake, I nodded. "Morph!" I called lightly as I spun in a circle.

His eyes widened momentarily before he nodded and raised his hand in front of his face. "Thunder Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" he called, instantly transforming into the Navy Ranger. Grabbing his thunder staff, he raised it before him and concentrated. "Thunderstaff! Full power!" he called, and navy energy crackled around the said weapon.

Charging forward, he swung at Skull first and knocked him back a foot.

"I get it!" Dustin cried cheerfully as he hit his own Garment Grid and transformed. Beginning his own dance, he took over for me and nodded to me. "Your turn!" he called.

With a grateful nod in his direction, I turned serious. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" I called, morphing into the Blue Wind Ranger. Pulling my hands in front of me, I focused on my inner energies and called up my elemental abilites. "Power of water!" I called as I shot my hands forward and unleashed powerful jets of water at them.

Blake sheathed his staff before copying me. "Power of thunder!" he called, mimiking my moves and shooting navy energy at the now soaked villains.

Now for those of you that didn't know, water conducts electricity and both these guys were majorly soaked. The resuling blast hit them hard enough to knock them both out and we took that chance to leave them there and run to the next room. As we checked the room, we found it empty and left, heading down the path to our right.

Blake and I demorphed as we walked and we stopped cold as a loud alarm rang through the halls.

"Guess they woke up?" Dustin offered with a weak grin.

We ran down the hallway and turned to the left, seeing two large crawlspaces that would easily fit us, between us and the far wall. Walking forward, I looked down and noticed a blue machina switch on the wall below. Looking up, I also noticed the glowing switch on the opposite wall. I realized that they were likely the keys to turning off the booby traps, but I didn't want to chance going down into the crawspaces just yet.

Instead, we jumped across the large opening and repeated the process with the second one, before running down to the far wall. Once we got there, I looked at the switch with a sense of dread as I hesitantly reached out and pushed it.

All of a sudden, there was a loud screetching and the wall parted to reveal a wall of spikes on the other side. Taking several steps back, I noticed the wall shake a bit before it began moving forward quickly.

Looking at the others with wide eyes, I let out a panicked yelp and ran, quickly followed by the others. We jumped back across the openings and ducked into the path we had come from as I relaxed a moment.

Then I looked up.

Another hallway, seemingly inaccessable, holding another switch. I took a look at the incoming wall and groaned as I took a step forward. I realized what I had to do, as much as I really _didn't_ want to do it!

"Tori!" Blake yelled in a panic. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Not bothering to answer him, I timed myself carefully, and as the wall approached, I jumped, climbing up the sides of the spikes to the top and running across to _barely_ make it into the hallway. Letting out a sigh of relief, I turned and waved at the others before pushing the machina and jumping down.

"Two our of four." I said to myself, counting the machina switches. I briefly explained my theory to the others, about how to deactivate the trap, and they nodded slowly. Then I turned and found a _very_ pissed off Blake glaring at me.

As the others went to press the other switches, I shrugged sheepishly as I looked down, fully prepared for the worst as he approached. I _wasn't_ however, prepared for him to gather me into a tight hug! He held me tightly against him and I felt his whole body shaking. It didn't hit me until then just how badly I scared him, and I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist in return.

"Don't you _ever_ do anything like that again!" he demanded shakily in a weak voice. "God Tor! Do you have any idea how bad you scared me just then??"

Feeling tears build up in my eyes, I turned my head up and kissed his chin. "I'm sorry, but it had to be done and I didn't know if we'd get a second chance at it." I offered weakly as I clung to him.

I felt him shaking his head above me and heard him sigh. "I know." he grudgingly admitted. Pulling away, he led me down the hallway to where the others were. "But tell me, where'd you learn to move like that?" he offered with a shakily smirk.

Shrugging, I felt my face heat up and looked at the floor.

We activated the last two switches, revealing a path that had been hidden before, as well as a room. Walking in, it looked to be the largest room and held a large device similar to that we used to find spheres. I guessed it was another oscillo-finder.

"It's gotta be here, right?" Dustin asked carefully.

Cassie nodded and looked around. "Let's split up and search."

That's what we did. Or rather, that's what _they_ did. I found myself lost, staring at the machina in the center of the room, and in no time, Dustin and Cassie's shouts broke me out of my thoughts.

"Found it!" Dustin cried at the same time that Cassie, across the room, called the same thing.

As we regrouped, I frowned when I saw each of them holding half an orange sphere and turned my head back and forth between them. "Huh?"

"Now I get it." Cassie said in an enlightened voice. "I wondered why they'd steal half a sphere."

To be honest, I'd wondered the same thing.

"They already had the other half!" Dustin cried as I took the two pieces.

"Very good loves." Cassidy said from the doorway.

Spinning around, I noticed her standing in the doorway with Bulk and Skull. The two head goons had obviously been healed and I silently groaned as I saw them.

"I went through a lot of trouble gathering those pieces for my Carlos-baby." I saw Bulk and Skull wince at the name and bit back my giggles. Cassidy sneered at me and glared openly. "So don't you lay a _finger_ on them! Boys!" she commanded.

"Yes boss!" they chorused as they armed themselves.

Quickly shoving the sphere fragments into my pouch, I grabbed my guns and glared right back.

"Our practice is finally payin' off!" Bulk cheered as he spun around a few times, holding his shield, before letting it go and it hit Cassie with enough force to knock her into the wall.

Skull raised an eyebrow as he fired at the rest of us, causing us to run around to dodge the bullets. "Practice? What practice?" he shot back.

"Enough snivelling!" Cassidy shot as she grabbed her fans and shot a wave of wind energy at us.

Dodging it, I shook my head and focused on her with my guns.

Cassie recovered from the hit and attacked Bulk with a glare, obviously intending to unleash some 'hurt time' on him for his attack.

Blake went for Skull with Dustin. He shot forward, using his ninja streaking, and hit the tall man hard as Dustin grinned and sliced him twice.

Cassidy dodged a few of my bullets but were hit by others and she fell back weakly, pulling out a potion and using it swiftly. Once her wounds were healed, she growled and swung the sharp edges of her fan at me, but I dodged the attack and countered with another volley of shots.

Bulk went for another of those spin attacks, but Cassie ran forward and cut him across the chest, stunning and injuring him.

"Enough slacking!" Cassidy snarled as she used a potion on the shorter man. Turning back to me, she was hit by my Trigger Happy and collapsed to the ground, unable to fight.

I then turned my attention to Bulk and shot at him, preventing him from firing one of his guns at Cassie.

Blake sliced Skull again, and Dustin followed up by snatching his gil purse before hitting him hard and knocking him down too.

I raised an eyebrow before rolling my eyes at Dustin's moves. That was just like him. Master Thief, always had to steal something. Firing at Bulk, I watched as he fell to his knees with a pained cry and kept my guns aimed at the now helpless trio.

"Well? Want another helping of your just desserts?" Dustin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cassie smirked and held her sword up. "No one's gonna hear you scream down here." she said in her montone voice.

"W-Wait a second!" Cassidy pleaded. "I'll...let you watch the sphere!" she bartered.

Not liking her choice of words, Cassie took a menacing step forward and glowered at her. "_Let_ us?"

Sighing in defeat as I pulled out the sphere fragments, Cassidy nodded slowly. "Please. The sphere is yours to watch." she said in a resigned voice.

Hitting the play button, the first thing I saw was the menacing face of the giant machina weapon, Vegnagun. I felt my heart quickly as I looked for any possible sign of Zach in the video, but there was none. It turned out, the sphere panned around the weapon and showed the area it was stored in.

To say I felt a little disappointed as the video ended, would've been a complete understatement. I felt Spiran Tori's hope die just a little more from seeing this and frowned as I pocketed the now whole sphere.

Yeah, that's one of the neat things about these spheres. If you had both halves and fit them together properly, the magic within them would reunite the two pieces, making the sphere whole once more.

"That is the colossus Vegnagun." Cassidy said with a frown as she slowly got to her feet with her goons behind her. "We've finished our analysis of the sphere. It appears to have been recorded underneith Bevelle."

Honestly, why wasn't I surprised? I think...a part of me already knew where to look for it.

"I see Yevon hasn't lost it's fondness for secrets." Cassie said with narrowed eyes as she regarded the trio of sphere hunters behind us.

"Exactly. Those Yevon scum have been concealing that weapon all along. If anyone uses it, Spira's done for!"

Dustin shook his head. "But it's a machina right? We can just shakey-shake our way up to it and take it apart!" he insisted, thought a little worry flashed through his eyes.

Cassidy nodded. "That's what Carlos' got in mind, and of course, whatever he's planning, is what I'm planning." Turning to me, she raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"

"Me?" I asked in surprise, not expecting to be included in this discussion.

"The Summoner who defeated Sin ought to stand up and defend Spira again." she put in with a smirk in my direction.

Hunter's words came back to haunt me at that statement, and I began to realize what he meant. I began to seriously regret coming here for a half a sphere. Sure, there was the change of a threat to Spira, but... Forcing myself to pay attention, I nodded 'yes' to her.

"So I guess we're on the same side then. We'll be waiting for you." she said she turned her back to us and began to leave.

"Waiting where?" Cassie asked warily.

Turning around, she grinned. "Don't be silly, love. Why...on your airship of course. I've always wanted to take a spin on that thing!" she announced excitedly before running off with her goons hot on her trail.

"Ever hear of asking?" Dustin called after them as he chased them back to the ship.

Cassie, Blake and I followed them at a much slower pace, and I took Blake's hand as I lost myself in my thoughts.

_Sin is gone. The Calm is here. I thought our peaceful days would never end. The Eternal Calm. I really believed it would last forever...until now. I realized...how fragile it can be._

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Ai...so ok...this chapter's just a bit longer than usual. Ummm...sorry? LOL. Well, hopefully, it's not boring for you. :P

Anyways, Hope you like this.

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"No way!" Dustin cried in shock

"What is it?" Cassie asked in confusion.

"It's an Aeon!" I said in a breathy voice.

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	22. Bevelle's Secrets

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I am going to try and keep this as steady as I can, but I realize a lot was left out in the script. Mainly, dresspheres. And since there are certain dresspheres that I want to mention, I'm struggling to remember where they were.

This is also the last chapter for chapter 2 of the game. And there should be more action in these next chapters. I know I said that before, but chapter 3 of the game deals with dark Aeons and temple battles, and I believe chapter 4 should deal with the man in the sphere and who he is.

Now, I'm trying not to give too much away so... On with the fic!

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(Celsius)

Following Cassidy and her goons up onto the bridge, I watches as she looked around excitedly. Walking briskly over to Brother who was in the pilot seat, she nodded and took command immediately, much to our displeasure.

"First things first. We're going to Bevelle. Full speed ahead!" she commanded.

Brother turned in his seat to glare at her before sneering. "You just wait blondie!" she said sternly. Turning to me, he smiled sweetly. "Tori. Where to?"

I blinked in surprise because this was one of those very few times Brother actually _asked_ me what to do. But as I noticed, those times were beginning to become more frequent.

Before I could confirm Cassidy's choice, she spoke up for me, which I didn't really care for. "Why, she's off to save Spira, of course!" she called dramatically.

In a way, she was right. As much as I didn't want to get involved, it was too late, and my instincts were telling me to go. "Right." I agreed out loud.

Dustin made a sound of sadness behind me and I turned around to see him shaking his head. "Tori, Tori." he said with a resigned look on his face.

"Always getting herself dragged into trouble." Cassie added with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

Trying to defend myself, I shook my head. "Well, we're going to Bevelle. There should be lots of spheres, so we can hont them on the side." As soon as I said it, I realized how weak it sounded, even to me.

"Admit it." Cassidy put in with a grin. "You're a goody-goody."

Blinking a moment, I was barely able to hold back the wince when I remembered the last time I heard those words.

**Flashback**

"You're acting weird." Hunter stated with a disgusted look as he glared at me.

Raising an eyebrow, I took a stpe back. "_I'm_ acting weird?" I shot back, thinking of the way they were acting. They'd gone from protectors of the planet to the reason the planet was in danger. Terrorizing people and causing damage. They'd changed drastically from the friends I knew and had the gall to say _I_ was acting weird?

Blake nodded with his arms folded over his chest. "Yeah. What's with the whole goody-goody routine?"

Seeing his sneer, I couldn't hold back the look of hurt that passed over my face.

**End Flashback**

That was so long ago, but it still remained so fresh in my mind. I'd gone surfing by myself to show up some guys who'd insulted me because I was a girl. Because I'd been such an idiot, I was sent to an alternate dimension where my friends were my enemies.

Shaking my head, I glared at Cassidy and told Brother to head to Bevelle, before stalking off to be alone. I really _didn't_ appreciate being reminded of that day, even if it was an accident.

(Bevelle)

As we walked up the Highbridge to the main gate of Bevelle, I worried. The Youth League saw us on their side, meaning that New Yevon would likely see us as enemies. Seeing guards approach, I shuddered a bit at the glares we were receiving.

Stopping, I turned to the others. "Um, how are we going to do this?" I asked softly.

Cassidy strolled up and shrugged. "It's obvious! We nab the head honcho and make him take us to Vegnagun...and checkmate!"

"Not bad." I admitted with a nod.

"I got no problem with this." Bulk said with a grin. "Our target's the Praetor of New Yevon, T.J."

Skull snickered and shook his head. "A girly man like that doesn't stand a chance without his escort."

Cassie rolled her eyes and looked away. "Careful. He's much stronger than he looks." she warned quietly.

I turned to her in confusion, wondering how she'd know that, but before I could open my mouth, the sound of footsteps behind us casued me to spin around.

"Company." Cassie put in, needlessly.

"Who goes there?"

Facing two guards, I grinned sheepishly and turned to the others.

"It's those Youth League spies!" the first guard cried.

The second guard shook his head. "We won't let you defile this place like you did in Kilika!" he cried angrily as he readied his gun.

"Well, good luck!" Cassidy cried as she ran off.

Blinking in shock, I spun around. "Good luck?" I shot back in a squeak. I'd thought they'd help us, but instead, they were leaving us to deal with this ourselves.

Turning back to the battle, I was just in time to dodge their bullets before countering with my own. Blake counted on his new attack and shot a wave of navy energy at the enemies, and Dustin raced forward to slice them both with his daggers.

Cassie followed suit, and ran between them, before jumping up and doing a powerful spin kick that knocked them both in the head. Landing on the ground, she spun again with her blade, and sliced them both across the midsection, before retreating back to us.

As the guards collapsed, we ran forward and entered the temple. We watched as many people ran around in a panic and some sat sobbing on the floor. Frowning, we made our way to a lift and changed the coordinates on the panel to send us below Bevelle.

"Geez. Things are really a mess!" Dustin stated loudly as he looked around with worried eyes.

I nodded in agreement. Even when the Maesters disappeared and Sin was a threa, things had not been this bad. "Yeah." I agreed.

Heading down into the cloister of trials, we stopped cold at the sight of the fiends throughout the temple. This was my second time ever coming down here, but I'd never once seen fiends in a temple before and the possible reasons frightened me.

"Wait! What're fiends doing in the temple?" Dustin cried with wide eyes.

"The temples reek of secrets." Cassie said in a bitter tone. "Don't let a few fiends throw you."

We continued through the frozen cloister, fighting the fiends as we went. Pausing for a brief moment, I only just realized that, compared to two years ago, things in the temples had changed so much. Secrets were beginning to surface, and mysterious events were making things so confusing.

"Let's go." I said as we took another lift down. Now we were in a live of the Bevelle underground I'd never seen before, but I followed my instincts as we went.

Finding a large whole in the ground, we jumped down and saw the massive ledge we were standing on. It over looked an immense machina security station, with machina weapons flying around. As we moved past the entrance, an alarm sounded and turning around, I noticed Cassidy and her goons behind us.

"Watch the door!" I ordered firmly as I spun back around and noticed two of the weaponds making their way over to us.

Scowling in the dark of the room, Cassidy shook her head. "I don't take orders from you!" she spat. Then she seemed to think about it a moment and sighed. "But...I'll make an exception this time. Leave it to us, loves." she said with a sheepish grin.

Racing forward, I hoped on a thick linked chain that was holding the large center platform linked to the ledge we were on. On better inspection, I noticed there were five such ledges, three with chains attached to them. The last two, I noticed, the chaines were broken.

Rushing towards the enemies, we engagged them. I shot my regular bullets while Blake used his thunder powers. Dustin changed to Blake mage and began casting level two thunder spells, Thundaras, and Cassie charged her sword with thunder.

Seeing as how these were machinas, they were soon defeated and we moved on.

There were size small towers on the large circular platform, and I saw three with blue lights and three with red. Walking over to the first blue one, I touched the glowing glyph and heard the sound of something moving. Running back towards the center of the platform, I noticed a small ledge shoot out and moved around to a lower door.

Switching my gaze from the small ledge to the size towers, to the five empty spaces, I figured it out and explained my theory to the others. We managed to unlock the seal to get to the nest level, and raced down.

Suddenly, we were in a large room with a moving machine in the center. As we walked forward, Dustin ran in front of us.

"Hey!" he cried. "Tori, that sphere with you-know-who in it. Wasn't it recorded here?"

Cassidy shook her head and groaned before walking by with her goons. "Get your head out of the clouds and move it!" she commanded

Nodding slowly, I looked up at the giant gaol (1).

_There's a connection. Everything is connected. I can feel it._

But...that didn't mean I understood it.

Heading down more paths, I noticed a small ledge below us and jumped down to see a treasure chest. Opening it, I saw a sphere inside and grabbed it quickly, immediately identifying it as the Dark Knight dressphere. Placing it on my Garment Grid, I jumped back up to the ledge the others were one and continued.

We rounded a corner and headed down another long path, that soon gave way into jumping blocks and _another_ long path. I was seriously ready to use my ninja streaking to race around and find out where Vegnagun was myself.

I took the lead, jumping across the four blocks and waiting for the others to catch up. Once we regrouped, we headed down the hallway, but stopped as the echo of footsteps in front of us caught our attention.

T.J. appeared, looking confused, with a double bladed staff on his back. Walking up so he was maybe ten feet from us, he bowed a little. "The Gullwings. I was wondering who was there." he said in his soft, deep voice.

I just shook my head and remained silent, disappointed in him for repeating Yevon's past mistakes of keeping secrets.

Sighing, he shook his head. "You don't have to say anything. I know why you've come. You're here to destroy the weapon that threatens all of Spira, Vegnagun. Am I right?" Not waiting for a response, he continued on. "If it could _be_ destroyed, we would've done it long ago. But Vegnagun _must not_ be toughed!" he insisted firmly. "Neither you nor Carlos seem to understand that."

"You talked to Carlos?" Cassie quickly asked.

"He..." T.J. sighed and looked confused. "He cannot be trusted."

"And you can?" Dustin shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Nodding slowly, T.J. offered a weak grin. "Touché. Yes, I suppose Yevon has brought this distrust upon itself. At any rate, you need not interfere. Leave Vegnagun to me." he said firmly with a shake of his head.

"What are you planning to do?" I asked nervously.

Pulling out his double bladed staff, he frowned as he took a battle ready stance. "The only thing I can do. Stop those who would seek to do Vegnagun harm. Please leave." he said with a slightly pleading look.

Cassie stalked forward and unsheathed her sword with a glare in his direction. "Tori. Blake and Dustin. I'm going." she said.

"Cassie!" he shouted in pleading.

I was once again struck with the fact that they knew each other and I frowned as the others charged into battle with him. First, Carlos and her had a familiarity with each other, and now T.J and Cassie? What was going on? How did they know each other, and why did Cassie seem so angry with them?

Pursing my lips, I joined them and fired at T.J., stopping him from firing a gun he had pulled, and knocking it out of his hand. With confusion in my eyes, I charged up Trigger Happy and let lost a volley of shots towards him.

Cassie joined my attack with Flameblade, and Blake shot a lightning bolt at him.

Once we were done, T.J. collapsed with a groan, his eyes still practically begging us not to proceed.

"I'm sorry." I said from his side.

"Sorry." Cassie said sadly as she looked at all of us, including T.J. "I'm going ahead." she stated.

"You have your reasons." I said with a nod.

"Fill us in later, k?" Dustin asked softly.

Running down the hall and turning the corner, she managed to call back her answer before disappearing out of eye and ear shot. "_Much_ later!"

_With so many things woven together...what could be waiting where the ends meet?_

"Wait up!" Dustin called as he chased after her.

Frowning, I handed T.J. a potion before we followed after her. We ran down a long corridor, and I was eerily reminded of the dream I'd had.

Entering a large chamber, I gasped silently at the large platform at the end. It was exactly like that I'd seen in my dream! I could even see the ghostly apparitions of Zach and myself...or rather, Spiran Tori, standing there, holding each other with frightened and sad looks on their faces.

The only difference was that, there was no Vegnagun.

Walking to the center of the large platform, I looked around, and noticed the enormous hole under us. Clouds of pyreflies floated up from it, and danced around the room, giving it a rather eery sense to it.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard, and the ground shook violently as a huge, dark figure burst up from the ground to hover in front of us with a menacing, angry look in it's eyes.

I felt my jaw drop as tears built up and fell from my eyes. The once bright navy blue body, was now dull and grey. The red glowing eyes, once filled with gentleness, now were filled with anger and malice. The wheel on his back had turned to a sickeningly black metal, and he radiated rage.

It was Bahamut. But...at the same time, it wasn't. I got no sense of the sentient mind that was there two years ago. No sense of the voice that would occasionally float through my mind with advice.

Shaking my head, I felt my heart break. What had happened to him?

"No way!" Dustin cried in shock from beside me as his own eyes widened to the point, I waited for them to fall out.

Cassie shot Dustin a confused look before grabbing her sword and warily watching the monstrosity. "What is it?" she asked in confusion.

Blinknig back more tears, I took a step forward. "It's an Aeon." I said breathily in awe. Walking forward, I stood in front of it with my arms out from my sides. "You must stop!" I cried passionately, hoping some semblance of the Bahamut I knew still existed inside him.

Bahamut roared, and the anger within him only seemed to intensify.

Cassie ran up and pulled me back before stepping in front of me and brandishing her sword. "You wanna get killed?!" she yelled. "We have no choice!"

I felt an arm wrap around my waist briefly and turned to see Blake with a pained expression and tears sparkling in his dark eyes. I knew, he was feeling the same pain as me. But then, that was our curse. We were both Summoners, and we had to kill the Aeons. I knew it hurt Dustin to see Bahamut again, but it was nothing compared to the pain Blake and I felt.

Shaking my head, I pressed my Garment Grid and activated the Thief dressphere. While it may not be as powerful as Gunner or Warrior, Bahamut was powerful, and the speed boost would help.

Jumping into the air, my Gunner outfit was replaced by my Thief. A light blue tank top that left little to the imagination covered my top half, with my light blue bikini under it, and the bottom half was a light blue miniskirt that only came halfway down my thighs. I wore a pair of ankle length blue boots, and arm warmers that went from my shoulder to my wrists, ending with a pair of navy blue gloves on my hands and light blue daggers.

Dashing forward, I tapped into my ninja streaking abilities and used it to cause a lot of damage with my blades.

Blake followed my lead with his sword and did the same thing, only his damage was worse. Jumping back, he had to swiftly jump again to avoid the huge claw being swung in his direction and ran up Bahamut's arm before slicing at his face and jumping back down to the platform.

Cassie hit a button on her bracelet type Garment Grid, and jumped in the air. Her Warrior outfit was replaced with a heavily armoured outfit. Leather pants and a leather halter, covered with armour for protection, and a large, pure black sword clothed her and she disappeared in a flash of light.

Suddenly, the ground erupted into flame, and she reappeared, climbing out of a whole in the ground. Brandishing her sword, she sneered at the creature. "Pain is my ally." she said only as she ran forward.

I realized this was the new Dark Knight dressphere. It was just like warrior, only with a different set of abilities, and increased strength.

Dustin in turn hit his Garment Grid and jumped. His thief was replaced by an all white outfit as he turned in the air. Long, lose white pants, and a lose fitting white shirt with light yellow designs on the arms. A cloud of white feathers erupted from around him, blocking him from our view for a moment, but when they faded, he was also holding a white staff.

That was the White Mage dressphere.

As soon as the change was complete, Dustin ran over to Blake, who was kneeling in pain, and cast a cure spell on him.

I turned to Bahamut, torn by my duty. On one hand, I wanted to find out what was wrong and save him, but on the other, I had to protect Spira and my friends. Looking into his eyes, I noticed an ever so faint pleading in them and realized what I had to do.

Aiming my guns, I began firing once again, fresh tears pouring out of my eyes and causng my shots to miss.

Cassie charged up her energies before raising her arm and slicing the blade across it, getting a little blood on it. Then, plunging the blade into the ground, a wave of dark energy cascaded ut and hit Bahamut, knocking him back a ways.

Dustin then raced over and healed her.

I could only stand there and watch, dropping my blades as I fell to my knees, as Bahamut turned back into a bright navy blue and faded away into pyreflies. I saw the gratitude in his eyes before he disappeared, but it did nothing to releave the pain I was in.

_Why is this happening? I wish you were here with me._

Frowning, I closed my eyes tightly, feeling the combination of my pain and Spiran Tori's. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see Cassie's sympathetic face, and gave her a weak smile as I got shakily to my feet.

I felt an arm wrap around my waist and didn't even turn as I leaned into the warm embrace, letting Blake hold me tightly against him and feeling safe. Closing my eyes, I sighed. "Thank you Cassie. You were right. We had no choice." I admitted weakly as more tears fell.

Looking around, I noticed how empty this giant room seemed. Vegnagun was easily the same size as Sin, if not bigger, so the room looked like a giant version of a blitzball stadium.

"Nothing..." Dustin said as he looked around.

"This whole was made recently." I said as I felt a gentle kiss being pressed to the top of my head, and I snuggled even more into his embrace.

"You think it was Vegnagun?" Blake asked quietly.

Dustin's eyes went wide and he leaned a little over the edge to see down. "Unreal..." he breathed. "How deep do you think it goes?"

That's when Cassidy and her goons entered and they looked shocked and confused at the lack of giant killer machina weapon. "What?" Cassidy cried in disbelief. "Where's Vegnagun?"

"Not here." I said obviously, not really in the mood to humor her at the moment.

She got a haughty look on her face and puffed out her chest which made me roll my eyes. "It must've fled in terror, knowing I was coming!" she announced.

I rolled my eyes again and giggled silently, and I felt Blake chuckling behind me as well.

Dustin shook his head with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think so." he said innocently.

"I must report to Carlos-baby at once!" she said simply as she turned to her henchmen. "Boys, record this. Don't miss a single detail!" she ordered.

Both Bulk and Skull pulled out blank spheres and began recording. "Yes boss!" they chorused as they got to work.

"Vegnagun." Cassie said quietly. "Was it really here?"

Frowning, I held Blake's arms around me and got him to hold me tighter as I tried to bury myself in his embrace. Only a short while ago, I'd been travelling, looking for signs of Zach. I thought Cassidy was nothing more than my enemy, and I thought we were all safe fro serious threat.

_This isn't how it was supposed to me. The Eternal Calm...I can feel it crumbling, falling away from beneith our feet,_

So many things were changing, and now there was news of a new possible threat to Spira. I wish, when Blake had returned, we'd just quit and lived someplace quiet. But then...I knew that no matter what, I would've been dragged into this one way or the other.

Getting a transmition on my com, I pulled away from Blake in alarm when Brother's panicked voice came through.

"Tori! We are in super doo-doo! Get back to the Celsius on the double!" he ordered, terror and confusion ringing clearly in his voice.

Exchanging a look with the others, we raced to the nearest teleport sphere, and returned to the ship. Cassidy chose to remain behind to find out what she could, and promised she'd return to Guadosalam when she was done.

**END of Chapter 2!!!**

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Wow. Another long chapter. Sorry folks. The first of many Dark Aeons.

(1) The Gaol - I have no idea what it is or how to explain it. I only know it was pointed out in the script. Sorry folks.

And yeah, I noticed the 'Carlos-baby' is a really weird nickname. Try 'Noojie-Woojie' LOL. Carlos is in place of Nooj...so I needed a similar nickname, but I didn't think 'Carlie-Warlie' really suited him either. LOL.

So yeah...Cassie knows T.J. and Carlos somehow, but how? And what about her reaction to Marah?

Hope you like this.

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"It's a freakin' state of the emergency!"

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R+R please:)

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	23. Celsius Talks and Luca Games

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Wow... this is a lot of chapters in one weekend. LOL.

A new dressphere will be introduced in this chapter. I'm sorry. I posted a link but it didn't show up. If you'd like to know what the outfit looks like check out ' Yuna Lady Luck ' under an image search.

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(Celsius, Blake's POV)

As we boarded the airship, I couldn't keep my mind from wandering. Everything started when Brother opened his big mouth and got us caught by Cassidy's men. Then we had to a) Find a sphere. b) Fight Bulk and Skull. c) Figure out way out of a booby trapped place, and d) Fight Cassidy, Bulk and Skull.

Oh yeah, and then find the sphere halves and watch them to lead us to Bevelle and yet _more_ fighting.

Oh, and did I forget to mention the FREAKING EVIL AEON???

No, I wasn't too pleased at the moment.

Thinking back to the wall of spikes we'd accidentally, I felt my face heat up as I recalled how Tori leapt on the moving wall and ran across the top. When she'd first jumped out there, I tried to follow after her, but was held back by Cassie and Dustin. I was seriously terrified that she would get hurt...or worse... When I saw that she was ok, it was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders.

I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath until I saw her waving down from an alcove I didn't even see before.

Once I got over the shock, I couldn't help but look back and raised an eyebrow as my eyes followed her graceful movements. I never realized she could move like that, and she was so amazing while accomplishing something so dangerous.

Blinking a moment, I focused on the task at hand as we ran up behind Brother. Part of me wanted to strangle him for getting us into so much trouble, but mainly, I was worried as to why Adam, Brother and Ethan were all white as sheets and looking at their panels with worry as a loud alarm shot throughout the ship.

"Trouble, and I mean _big_ time!" Adam cried. "Fiends are pouring out of the temples!"

Sharing a look with Tori, I knew this was bad.

"Which ones?" Dustin asked in worry.

Shaking his head, Brother groaned loudly. "Only _all_ of them!" he cried. "It's the freakin' state of the emergency!"

I watched as Tori frowned in confusion and everyone turned to her. Feeling an overwhelming need to be near her, I walked over and held her hand tightly. I watched as she shot me a small, grateful smile before her troubled expression returned.

"Is it Gullwing time?" Brother asked quietly as he looked at her.

Ethan shook his head slowly in his seat. "Not exactly sphere hunter work." he pointed out.

"True." Adam agreed. "But seeing Tori out there could calm people down."

"They'll expect her to do all the dirty work." Cassie pointed out.

"Yeah, but...Tori want's to help people, right?" Dustin asked, turning to her. His eyes suddenly lit up and he grinned. "Hey, I got an idea!" he cheered. "We can be 'Your Friendly Neighbourhood Gullwings'!"

"You mean like taking out fiends and charging for it?" Adam asked curiously.

Brother seemed to think about it. "Y mega ed! (I like it!)" he cried excitedly

Cassie turned to Tori with a nod. "Well, what do you think?"

"Why not?" she agreed. "If it means helping out people in need, then sure!" She grinned.

Dustin nodded firmly. "Right! That means sphere hunting's on hold!"

"Your Friendly Neighbourhood Gullwings!" Tori sheered as she jumped and pumped a fist into the air.

I could only smile and feel grateful to the others for bringing her back and making her smile again. She looked so lost for a while and I'd begun to worry. I knew she was beginning to get confused by Spiran Tori's thoughts and feelings, and only hoped she could hold out until this was all over with.

"It's decided. Where to?" Brother asked from his seat.

Frowning, I recalled what he said. He hadn't said the towns and islands were being overrun by fiends, but that they were coming from the temple. My mind flashed back to the evil version of Bahamut and I felt a hollow pain ring through my heart. I suddenly had a vague idea of where the fiends were coming from, but I didn't want to think of it.

I couldn't bring myself to believe that our once allies were dead, and were coming back to life as our enemies. What was that rage Bahamut was filled with? Why was he so angry? And then, why was he so grateful looking when we beat him?

An alarm suddenly rang out, and Adam typed a few commands on the panel making it stop. "Wait a sec." he said in confusion.

"Rinno ib! (Hurry up!)" Brother whined impatiently.

"What could this mean? Meyvn Carlos of the Youth League...and Praetor T.J. of New Yevon have gone missing. They've disappeared." Adam informed us with a confused frown on his face.

Brother snorted and waved a hand dismissively. "Fascinating." he said in a bored tone. "Right! Nevermind." he said pointedly, practically telling us to forget what we just heard. "Now, Friendly Neighbouring Gullwings...where to?" he repeated.

Tori thought about it a moment before deciding. First, before anything else, we'd check out Luca. It didn't have a temple, but we needed to check and be sure.

(Luca, Tori's POV)

We were walking through Luca, all of us, including Adam, Brother and Ethan. Taking in the calm yet festive sights of the city, I grabbed hold of Blake's hand as we crossed the busy path to the square.

"Hm. No reports of fiend activity here. Guess there's not gil to be made in Luca. Everyone's hyped up about a sphere breaking conest." Adam said with a bored tone.

I remembered hearing about that. A few nights ago, Dustin and I stayed up all night, practicing the game with rare coins he managed to steal from fiends and guards. He gave me half his collection and practically insisted that when the tournament came, I'd have to join in.

"That's 'Sphere Break'." Ethan corrected. "You should join." he pointed out to us. "The grand prize is a dressphere."

"Great!" Dustin cried extatically. "I've been practicing!"

"Well, let's go take a look." I agreed.

This would be fun to say the least. I only hoped I'd be able to win. Hell, I just hoped I wouldn't make an idiot of myself!

We were a little surprised when we saw Ashley stanging with a mic beside a pedestal with a sphere on it. What _did_ surprise me, was the angry, hurt look on her face, though she tried to mask it with a friendly smile.

"You can't go anywhere in Luca without hearing about Sphere Break. And now it's just about time for the competition to get under way!" she called with little enthusiasm. She turned a little, as if about to walk away, before turning back. "But first, a word from our sponsor. Lord Andros." she said with distast laced through her words.

Raising an eyebrow, I noticed how Andros came out with three girls crowding around him. Though he held a pleasant look on his face, I could see in his eyes that he was just as unhappy as Ashley and immediately figured out why. I could only hope they'd work out their differences.

"Famlusa, ajanouha. (Welcome, everyone)" he greeted with a tired smile. "I am looking forard to a fair competition. May the best man win!"

"Go time!" Dustin cheered as he grabbed his coins and ran off.

"Kuut milg du oui! (Good luck to you!)"

Running off, I encountered one person after the other, and surpringly, wond each match. As a bonus, there were hidden prizes with certain coins and we ended up with some really rare items and a big gil boost.

The rules stated that if I wond three matches, I was qualified for the final match, but if I lost three, I was disqualified. Well, I wond more then three, so I made my way to the square about two hours after the beginning of the tournament, and much to my surprise, Dustin was on his knees with a disappointed pout on his face.

"Dustin? I asked slowly as I stood beside him.

"Oooh! I was so close!" he cried with exsasperation.

"Who beat you?" I had to ask with disbelief. He was better than me, and I was better than a lot of the people here. So who was good enough to beat him??

Pointing to the stairs, without even looking up, I followed the direction he was pointing in and felt my eyes widen. There, standing beside the pedestal, was Ethan, with a triumphant grin on his face.

"It's elementary once you get the hang of it." he said with a shrug. "Once I outplay Tori, the tournament is mine."

"Get him Tori!" Dustin cried as he leapt to his feet.

Grinning at my Al Bhed friend, I nodded. "You're going down!"

"The probability that you'll win, is slim at best." Ethan said with another shrug.

Yeah, he was good. It was a grueling game, and the needed score was a _lot_ higher than all the others. For the longest time, I didn't think I'd make it, but to my surprise, I beat him. Only by a tiny bit, but I managed to beat him.

"I won!" I cried in shock.

"I..." Ethan seemed to try to think of an excuse but after a sigh, shook his head and gave up, giving me a small smile.

I was lead up to the steps and stood between Ashley and Andros as they presented me to the crowd.

"And the winner of the Sphere Break Competition, is...High Summoner Tori!" Ashley cried in excitement. "Presenting her awared, is Lord Rin!" Her excitement was gone and sadness took over in her eyes as she watched us.

"Luhknydimydeuhc. (Congratulations.)" he said simply as he handed me the Lady Luck dressphere with a small smile.

"Thank you." I said back as I accepted it and put it on my Garment Grid.

Heading back to the Celsius, I went straight to the cabin to try it out. The name 'Lady Luck', kind of had me worried about what kind of outfit. Walking up to the bedroom, I stood in front of the full length mirror and closed my eyes tightly as I hit the button.

I felt the power surge through me and allowed it. Feeling unusually cold and bare after a moment, with something strange in my hand, I opened my eyes and let out a shriek I'm sure all of Spira heard.

Staring in disbelief, my jaw dropped and my eyes widened. Blinking for a moment, I took in the gigantic playing cards I was holing in my hands, with the razor sharp edges. I also took in the light blue wrist length gloves with lacy trim around the wrists.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked up in the mirror and took in the..._skanty_ outfit I was wearing. "Holy shit!" I swore in disbelief. "My Gunner looks like my Summoner compared to this!"

For all the good this outfit did, I might as well have been naked.

It was a dark navy blue dress type thing. It was open to the waist in the front, showing off a lot more than I was comfortable with, and it was skin tight. Then the skirt wasn't much better. Still tight to my knees, it was open on the sides with straps to keep it from flying even more open, and was open in the front to just below my knees with ankle length light blue boots underneith. The top was navy blue with a black spade design just under my chest, with a black strip of cloth that kept it from flying open as well. It fit similar to my Gunner top, in how it was open in the front, only it bared a LOT more!

I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming again. How the hell was this supposed to help in battles? What? Was I supposed to rip off my top and go 'You hoo! Boys!'??

"Tor!"

Feeling my eyes widen as my breath caught in my throat, I slowly turned around to find Blake, Cassie and Dustin racing up the stairs with their weapons drawn, looks of worry in their eyes.

Only to stop and stare in shock when they saw me.

Can we say mortified??

Blake's face immediately went an interesting shade of red as he dropped his sword, and his jaw.

Dustin's eyes almost popped out of his head before he spun around and stuttered an excuse, running out of there at a speed that would make ninja streaking look like a walk.

Cassie's eyes got wide before she slowly shook her head. "No way am I _ever_ using that thing!" she said in shock before she too took off.

I turned my attention to Blake again, taking several deep breaths as I felt my face heat up even more under his scrutiny. His shocked look wore off and he blinked a moment before sitting cross legged on the floor where he was and pulling his sword into his lap with a sheepish grin.

"B-Blake?" I stuttered as I took a step forward.

Looking down really quickly, he cleared his throat. "Umm Tori..." he began, his voice cracking. "Do you...Do you think you can change into something else? Say...White Mage?" he asked nervously.

Blinking at him in confusion, I realized that White Mage was the most conservative thing I had and blushed even deeper at the comment, which I didn't think was possible. Looking at him closely, I checked him out carefully before nodding and changing into the white robes of the healer. "Uh, ok." I said, getting his attention.

He looked up and nodded, getting up slowly a moment later. Walking over to me, he pulled me close and kissed me deeply.

I was honestly surprised at the intensity of the kiss, but made no move to back down. Returning the kiss with the same fire, we soon broke free for air, panting heavily.

Shaking his head, he sighed and led me back to the bridge. Thinking about what happened. I was seriously glad Brother hadn't come running down here as well.

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Yeah, 'T' rating for a reason. LOL. I as being careful what I mentioned and didn't mention there. LOL.

**JuseaPeterson** - LOL. I had it in my mind for a LONG time for that to happen with the dressphere. LOL. They FINALLY got Lady Luck, and I brough in a Dark Aeon:)

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"We made quite the couple."

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Hope you all like this fic so far. :)

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	24. Mi'ihen to Moonflow

**Disclaimer** : I don't own PRNS or any Power Rangers character...nor do I own FF.

**Note** : I'm sure you probably noticed I'm not doing very many normal POVs, and that's because I find it difficult to do so with this fic. I keep saying 'I', 'we', and 'me', so I don't bother to try and change it. I also don't do too many Blake POVs either. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but that's for a specific reason.

Of Rangers and Guardians was done after Final Fantasy X. That game was done almost always in the male hero's POV, and since Blake was the male hero in my fic...

Saving Spira Again was done after Final Fantasy X-2. That one was about Yuna's personal journey to find the man she loved. Thus, she is the main female heroine, and so the POVs were hers. Because Tori is the heroine in this fic, most POVs are done in her POV.

_These are her personal thoughts that come up now and then._ They're written in the script as a narration and I always liked them, so I'm using them as a type of narration for Tori. That's why they're different from her normal thoughts and that's why, not matter what POV, they're always written the same way.

To put it simply, this fic is after a game that described Yuna's thoughts and actions so it's easier to write in Tori's POV for that. But I am trying to vary for people.

Anyways...enough of the long notes...back to the fic.

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(Mi'ihen Highroad)

As we entered the Mi'ihen Highroad, I took in the panicking people running around. So many men and women were racing towards Luca in a frenzy, and it was obvious why.

_It probably doesn't have anything to do with the temples, or the fiends, but there have been problems here too. Seems some machina are on the rampage._

The machina that had been guarding the Highroad from fiends, had suddenly turned violent for no apparent reason and began to attack the people who walked by. Some people suspected a mistake in the wiring, and others suspected sabotage. It was difficult to say what caused it, but it was clear they needed to be stopped.

"Let's mangle those machina and take the reward!" Dustin cheered.

Yes, we'd gotten word that the residents of Mi'ihen were offering a reward to anyone who could defeat the machina and stop their rampage.

"Tori?" Cassie asked as she looked at me.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned to her and nodded. "Let's do it!"

_Ok, so it sounds like it's mission time!_

Running down the Highroad, we fought any machina in our sights, saving several people and a hypello at one point. They all graciously thanked us before running off towards either Luca or the Mi'ihen Highroad Travel Agency.

Making it to the agency, we learned there were still more machina on the lose and ran past to find and fight them. Unfortunately, in two years, they had changed drastically. Two years ago, a thief could run up to one and take it apart in a matter of seconds by stealing vital components, but now, that wasn't possible. So instead, we had to actually fight them.

It was grueling, but we managed to finish the job, and went back to the agency where the excited proprietor ran up to us with a grin.

"Thank you for all your help!" she cried happily as she let out a sigh of relief. "Here's your reward."

She handed us 10, 000 gil, which Dustin hastily took with a thanks, and pocketed. Again, it wasn't a lot by Spira's standards, but would equal up to a fair amount.

"So what made the machina go all haywire?" Dustin asked curiously.

Shaking her head, the middle aged woman sighed again and her look turned to one of confusion. "None of us can figure it out. Pretty creepy, huh? We found agency property smashed up. Then the hover crashed. Just when we were about to look into it, the machina went out of control!"

"Well if you find anything out, be sure and give the Gullwings a call." I said firmly. Turning to my friends, I nodded. "Ready to head back?"

"Now that wasn't a very feel-good ending, now was it?" Dustin pouted as he followed us along.

Cassie rolled her eyes and shrugged. "People who want happy endings usually have to write their own." she said wisely.

"Aw. What about me? I want a happy ending too!" he whined as we returned to the airship.

(Mushroom Rock)

Running down the Mushroom Rock Road, we stopped by Bridge and I nodded. "Gullwings here. Where's the fiends?"

"No need for concern, Lady Tori." Bridge said with an easy going smile. "Everything's under control. The fiends got close to the headquarters, but thankfully, no farther. The Al Bhed from Djose assisted us in fighting them off."

Dustin put a hand to his chin in thought. "So Marah was here?"

Bridge nodded at him. "Yes. Her group also brought us these machina. You know, she said something which still strikes me as sort of odd. She told us not to reply on you, Lasy Tori."

Blinking in surprise and confusion, I mentally wondered why she'd say something like that. "Huh?" Shaking my head, I looked around a bit and noticed the machina walking along the road. "Me?"

"She said we need to reply on our own strength to defend Spira through the coming age." he explained with a confused frown.

Taylor suddenly came running up and looked at me with a worried expression. "Lady Tori, if I may interrupt. There is something I would like to ask you." she said a little breathlessly.

"Sure." I agreed with a nod.

Following her a little ways away from the group, I frowned as she turned fearful eyes on me.

"As you are probably aware, we have not heard from Meyvn Carlos, our leader, in quite some time. Lady Tori, have you any information on his whereabouts?" she asked hopefully.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "I'm sorry, but we really don't know any more than you do." Ok, that was a lie. I knew that he was after Vegnagun, which would at some point, put him in Bevelle, but at the same time, it was the truth because we didn't know where he was at the moment.

"I see..." Taylor said with disappointment.

"If we see him, we'll let him know you're looking for him." I tried to reassure her.

Nodding, she offered a weak smile. "Thank you Lady Tori."

As she walked away, we headed up the path, going to Djose temple. I knew there'd be fiends there, but if Marah was there as well, after what she said to Bridge, I wondered if going there was such a good idea.

(Djose)

As we approached the temple, it was easy to see that something was definitely up. First of all, there were no travellers at the little shop, and second, more guards than usual were posted around the place.

Marah too was outside and was armed with a large gun. When she saw us, that cocky grin flashed and she walked over. Seeing Dustin, her grin grew and she ruffled his hair playfully. "Well, if it isn't Cid's little boy." she said teasingly.

"I have a name..." Dustin whined with a smile as he fixed his mussed hair.

I giggled and looked between them, seeing the underlying affection they tried to hide through their banter. "You two seem close." I said with a smile as I looked between them.

Marah laughed and wrapped her arm around his neck while giving his cheek a quick kiss before she pulled away. Grinning cockily, she shook her head. "We made quite the couple." she said easily.

I felt my jaw drop as I looked between them. Sure I saw the affection, but I didn't know they were ever together.

Dustin too seemed shocked by what she said and he flushed deeply while nudging her arm and giving her a mock scowl. "Fryd yna oui cyoehk? (What are you saying?)" he cried with embarrassment.

Laughing again, Marah raised an eyebrow and turned to us. "Dustin's always good for a laugh." she said as she ducked a playful swipe at her head. Sighing, she turned serious and let her shoulders drop a little. "If you're here about digging, now's not the best time." she put in.

Shaking his head, Dustin sighed. "Well there's fiends here too, right? Want us to clean up for you?" he asked with his own grin.

She turned to him and blinked a moment before furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Fiend hunting? What, you guys give up the sphere hunting thing?"

I nodded. "Temporarily. Right now, we're helping people out. Maybe...you'd like to hire us?" I put in as I raised an eyebrow.

She seemed to seriously consider that for a moment before she sighed and shook her head. "Nope." she said simply. "You already took care of Sin. We can't go running to you every time we get into trouble."

Part of me was pleased she'd said it. It was very independant and a nice change from people always wanting my help, but also, part of me worried about her decision. What if it got people hurt...or killed?

Approaching me, she raised an eyebrow. "Hmph. I watch my own back." she said simply as she shot Cassie a brief, confused look.

"Show off." Dustin muttered quietly.

Nodding to Marah, I sighed. "Well, be careful." I warned.

She nodded as she walked away. "You too." she called back.

Leaving Djose, we walked up the path to the Moonflow. I figured nothing much would be going on, because it wasn't particularly close to any temples, but still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

(Moonflow)

Walking up the banks, I winced as I heard some rather horrible music come floating down the bank. Frowning, I turned to the others to see similar looks on their faces, and I sighed as we walked up to where Tobli's show was going on.

A few people stood around, watching in disgust as the show progressed, and many complained about it being a waste of their time and money. Going up to Tobli, we could clearly see his distress and waited until he saw us.

Turning around, he ran up to us with a worried look on his face and began talking at once. "This won't do, won't do at all! We've finally put it on. The show, of course. But there's no passion! No climax! No, no, no, no, no! Oh, Shoopuf!"

I winced at his choice of words and sighed. Saying that was like swearing for the people of Spira. It could translate into a lot of words, but needless to say, whenever someone used it, they _weren't_ happy.

"I can't run a show without climactic passion! I must have miscalculated! This wasn't supposed to happen at all!" he continued on.

Dustin sighed and shook his head sympathetically. "Don't worry, Tobli. I'm sure your next show will make up for it." he tried to cheer him up.

Shaking his head, Tobli looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "Next show?" he echoed incredulously. "How can there be a next show when the first show made the next show a no show?"

I blinked a moment as I processed what he said and turned to see Blake massaging his temples. I knew Tobli was a little...different, but he also had this annoying habit of confusing people with his words.

"Well one thing's surely for sure. I need to attract celebrities to attract an audience!"

"Huh." I stated cluelessly, not realizing what I was getting myself into. "Got any celebrities in mind?"

He nodded quickly. "Well let's see, let's see. The most celebrated celebrity is...Eureka!" he exclaimed.

"Tori, run." Cassie said with an alarmed look on her face.

Turning to her in worry, I looked around. "What's wrong?" I questioned quickly.

"Don't ask. Just run. Run now. Run fast." she said shortly.

"Um, ok." I said hesitantly.

We turned and managed to get a few steps away, when Tobli's overexcited voice reached our ears. "Wait, wait, wait! Just a moment!" he cried as he ran towards us. Unfortunately, he tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Keep running." Cassie instructed firmly.

"Hey! What's gotten into you?" Dustin demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest with a mild glare.

Groaning, Cassie shook her head. "Do you really need to ask? You know what he's planning, don't you?"

"This is our big chance!" Dustin cried happily as he thought about it.

I nodded slowly. "It could be fun." I admitted sheepishly.

We left the Moonflow anyways, being too busy to think about a concert or anything at the moment. Riding the Shoopuf over the sunken city, we crossed to the far bank and continued on to Guadosalam.

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Phew. Ok, I forgot just how many places there were. All the more boring ones'll be first, and then the more exciting ones.

Another chapter up. I'm dead exhausted and still writing...please forgive me if there are spelling/grammar mistakes. Let me know and I'll fix them asap.

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"You're wrong! If you'd stop attacking, there wouldn't _be_ a war!"

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Hope you like it. :)

Please R+R.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	25. Learning a Little More

**Disclaimer** I don't own anything

**Note** : Ok, the full title for this chappie is called **Learning a Little More About The Mystery Man.** I know, long winded but I'm freaking exhausted, so I'm doing the best I can. (Yawns and rubs eyes)

**JuseaPeterson** - Thank you so much for your reviews. I'm glad you liked the chapters. Yeah, I loved the Moonflow fluff, Monkey naming and Lady Luck incident. You asked How Blake and Dustin would fight? What? If Tori or Cassie were in the Lady Luck? I don't think they would be able to fight. LOL. But then...they have their own versions too, remember? LOL Talk about payback. (grins evilly)

Oh yeah...P.S. Anyone remember how many red spheres I'm up to? I remember starting to mention them when Tori's group encountered Bulk and Skull at the Den of Woe, and I'm supposed to have quite a few... Well, I think I have like 3 or so...well, there'll be another one by the end of this chapter. Anyways, if anyone knows where I'm supposed to get the red spheres...or if I missed one or something, PLEASE let me know! I really want to include the Den of Woe... well, we'll see...

**JuseaPeterson** - To answer your question, Ashley was hurt because Andros had those women on his arm, but if you read the part about him, he wasn't too happy either.

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(Guadosalam, Normal POV)

Heading into the Chateau Cassidy, Tori pursed her lips a little. Since their last run in, Cassidy only sent a brief message to let them know they were all right, and she sounded pretty depressed. The former Summoner could only guess that it was due to Carlos' disappearance, and silently prayed for everything to turn out all right.

Walking into the livingroom, they were met with the sight of Bulk and Skull with their backs to the group, speaking in obviously fake voices.

"Cassidy, there's nothing to worry about." Bulk said as he seemed to struggle to deepen his voice.

Skull sighed in frustration and shook his head. "Ugh, not even close." he groaned.

"Well let's see you try it then!" Bulk snapped angrily as he passed something to his friend.

Clearing his throat, Skull tried the same thing with an even worse effect. "Cassidy, there's nothing to worry about." he repeated Bulk's earlier phrase.

Busting up laughing, Bulk shook his head and swatted Skull's arm. "Look who's talking!" he shot back.

"What're you two doing?" Tori asked hesitantly with furrowed eyebrows as she took in the confusing and slightly disturbing in front of her.

Both men spun around in surprise, revealing Skull to be holding a small sphere in his hands. Sighing, Skull shook his head sadly. "The boss has been rather...depressed lately, since Carlos went missing." he informed them with a depressed tone.

Bulk nodded in agreement. "We wants to comfort her, see?"

"Oh, so that was supposed to be Carlos?" Dustin piped in with confusion.

"That bad?" Skull asked with a wince.

Tori giggled and Dustin chuckled before nodding in unison. "Yep." they chorused, before breaking into a fresh fit of laughter.

Blake raised an eyebrow at the two with a slightly disturbed look on his face. _It's creepy how alike those two can be._ he thought with a shudder as he took in their grins. "Even if you _did_ sound like Carlos, you really think it would help?" he piped up as he turned back to the men in front of them.

"It would!" they chorused, once again making his eyebrow skyrocket.

"Whatever you say." Cassie put in with a bored tone.

Leaving the two behind, the group of sphere hunters made their way up the steps and over to where the goon stood guarding Cassidy's bedroom door. Seeing them, he let out a small sigh of relief and nodded in respect.

"Maybe the threat of a little competition will help bring back the boss' fight?" he mused out loud as he waved them in and stood aside.

Entering Cassidy's room, Tori and Cassie walked up to her with Dustin only a couple of feet behind.

"Leave me alone." Cassidy groaned in a dull voice.

Taking in her appearance it was easy to tell she had been crying from the red and puffy eyes, as well as the unusually pale complexion. Not to mention, the light was gone from her eyes, and she looked like a zombie.

"Don't you want to hunt some spheres?" Dustin asked as he tried to get her mind off her troubles. "The Gullwings are gonna get all the spheres in Spira, you know." he taunted good naturedly.

Shrugging, she shook her head. "Fine by me. There's no point in chasing after spheres if my Carlos-baby isn't here to smile. What difference does it make?"

"You're a mess." Cassie stated with a slightly concerned frown.

"Say what you want." Cassidy shot back in the same dead tone as she refused to look any of them in the eye.

With a heavy and disappointed sigh, they retreated from the room and made their way back down to the livingroom where Bulk and Skull stood. Seeing the hopeful looks on their faces, Tori sighed and shook her head sadly.

Looking like he was deep in thought, Bulk slowly pursed his lips. "What if we showed her a sphere with Carlos on it?"

"Why ask us?" Cassie shot back in a bored tone as she raised an eyebrow. "Go for it."

"Of course!" Skull cried as if suddenly struck by an idea. "That sphere! We took one in Bevelle. Care to watch it?" he asked with a grin.

"What's on it?" Tori asked curiously.

Shaking his head, Skull's look turned uncertain. "We haven't looked yet. Meet us in our room, and we'll have a private viewing." he said as he and Bulk dashed into the underground chamber.

Frowning, Tori felt her face heat up at the hidden implications in those words, but also noticed that by the look in his eyes, Skull hadn't. Heading down the path, they once again entered the first room and stopped as they looked around.

Tori looked up and caught sight of a ledge. She wouldn't have thought twice about it, but she saw the faint red glow of a sphere and her eyes widened. Looking around the small room, she noticed some boxes piled by the ledge and climbed up them before walking carefully around the ledge. Picking up the sphere, she grinned at her friends before placing it safely in her pouch and jumping down.

They then continued their trek until they came to the second room. This was the one they were looking for and entered to find Bulk and Skull standing in the center of the room.

Seeing them enter, Skull looked through a shelf at his side. "Let's see..." Pulling out a sphere, a slight sigh sounded from his strained smile. "This should be it."

He hit the play button and watched as the scene of them walking through the Bevelle underground replayed. Tori felt her face heat up as the camera focused on her back and slide down to her...rear, before the camera shot to Cassie and did the same thing. "What's this?" she asked suspiciously.

Shooting him a glare and taking a step back, she watched as he blushed deeply and shook his head. "Bulk shot this, not me" he replied as he shot a glance to his slightly offended looking friend.

That's when the camera shot over to him and he cleared his throat nervously, turning off the sphere.

"So I see." Dustin said with a raised eyebrow.

Stuttering for a moment, he sighed and shook his head as he handed Tori the sphere. "Must be a dud." he said quickly as he searched around again.

"Hey! Who're you calling a dud?" Dustin cried with offence.

Tori and Blake raised their eyebrows at him, but Cassie only shook her head with a sigh.

Pulling out a second sphere, he played it as well, and this one actually focused on the whole where Vegnagun had been...or so they guessed. They could make out the pyreflies, and faint comments from the others through it, when Tori suddenly gasped.

"There's someone there!" she cried as she noticed a shadowy figure moving on the ledge of the opposite wall so far away.

Dustin looked closer as his eyes widened and eagerly examined the image the sphere was producing. "Really? Where, where?" he cried.

"I'll zoom in." Skull said.

They watched as the image grew closer, until the unmistakable image of Carlos came into view. Tori wasn't so sure, but for a moment, she could've sworn she saw pyreflies floating around his body, but with a blink, it was gone and he stalked off into the shadows.

"It's Carlos!" Dustin cried belatedly as the said man disappeared from the image. "What was he doing there?" he asked in confusion as the sphere ended and Skull handed them that one as well.

"I don't like it." Cassie hesitantly admitted, worry shining in her dark eyes.

Turning to her, Tori frowned in concern. "What?" she asked softly.

Shaking her head, she crossed her arms over her chest, but this time, it seemed more for personal comfort, than anything else. "All these secrets. It's just one thing after another." she said a little sadly.

Skull nodded in agreement before letting out a sigh. "If I may. You are free to do as you like, but I ask you not to show the boss that sphere."

Dustin tilted his head to the side. "Why not?" he asked curiously.

Shaking his head, Skull made a face of worry. "Whatever this Vegnagun thing is, it's clearly dangerous. Nothing the likes of we sphere hunters have any business fooling around with. But if the boss knew Carlos were involved, well, there'd be no stopping her. If anything were to happen to her..."

"You guys got it rough, don't you?" Dustin asked with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

Raising an eyebrow, Skull looked him. "If only she noticed." he said in defeat.

The group was about to leave when Tori caught sight of a sphere glowing on a nearby bookshelf. Walking over to it, she picked it up and turned, holding it out for the others to see. "Is this one from Bevelle too?"

"Ooh! Been taking naughty pictures again?" Dustin teased.

Bulk turned bright red and shook his head, and Skull raised an eyebrow. "I didn't _shoot_ this one, I found it." he pointed out.

Hitting the play button, the Gullwings and Bulk and Skull moved close to view the image as it came up.

"It's badly distorted. It must be old." Skull pointed out as a faint image of a guard walked by.

The sphere showed a guard walking up to a cage, and inside... Tori couldn't help but gasp as the blonde haired man was again shown.

"Bah!" the guard spat. "The only reason the war's dragging on it because Zanarkand refuses to surrender."

Tori frowned and exchanged a confused glance with Blake. The only war either of them knew about was 1000 years ago.

The man shook his head violently and grasped the bars of the cage tightly as he glared at the soldier. "You're wrong!" he shouted angrily. "There wouldn't _be_ a war if you'd stop attacking!"

"We're not falling for that." the guard said with a mocking laugh.

"Someday..." the man's eyes lowered to the floor as he spoke in a deceptively calm voice. "Your precious machina will turn on you." he threatened.

There was a sound behind the group as the sphere ended, and they all turned to see Zordon walking in with an expression of deep thought. "He's probably referring to the machina war of a thousand years past." he said wisely.

Tori blinked for a moment and frowned. Did that mean that this sphere was taken a thousand years ago? But...if that was the case, then that couldn't be Zach. And if it wasn't Zach, then...who was it?

"When did you sneak on, old man?" Skull asked with a raised eyebrow as Tori placed the sphere in her pouch.

"You can't expect me to remember everything that happens!" Zordon stated firmly with a raised eyebrow and teasing grin on his face. Turning to Tori, he tilted his head slightly. "I must admit, the likeness is positively uncanny."

Frowning, Tori nodded slowly. "It can't really be him...can it?" she asked hesitantly.

Shaking his head, Zordon looked at her apologetically. "I'm afraid not. After all, that sphere was recorded a thousand years ago."

"Right. Of course." she muttered in disappointment.

"Would you like to hear more?"

_There's more?_ Tori thought as she looked up sharply. "Please, go on." she said softly.

"Lady Tori, there are rumors going around lately. Perhaps you've heard of them. They say High Summoner Tori was accompanied by a Guardian from, of all places, Zanarkand! It seems he belonged to another world. He disappeared two years ago, only to return as of late." Changing his glance to Blake, he nodded. "And I see the rumors are true." Bowing deeply, he offered a smile. "I must thank you, young man, for all you have done for us."

Blinking in surprise, Blake offered him an awkward bow back.

"Oh my!" Zordon stated as he stood up straight, a confused look on his face.

"What is it?" Dustin asked with worry.

Frowning, Zordon shook his head. "I had something on the tip of my tongue, but it slipped away. Something very important... Oh well. I suppose I'll just have to think on it some more. Until next time, Lady Tori. We are all connected. There may yet be a way to reunite those who have gone."

Taking a quick step forward, Tori looked at him in shock. "What?"

Cassie shot a glare at the man and rolled her eyes. "Watch what you say, old man." she hissed.

"Forgive me." he said with a bow. "Consider it the ramblings of an old man."

Heading out of Guadosalam with his words fresh on their minds, they made their way to the Thunder Plains.

(Thunder Plains)

Walking along the stormy grounds, the group didn't take long to find Cid still sulking around in the same spot. Shaking her head, Tori walked up to him with a sigh.

Dustin decided to make the first move and walked over to his father. "Are you still bummed out about that pops?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"Who asked you!" he shot back.

Cassie sighed and turned away. "Let's go." she said in a bored tone.

As the group began to walk away, Cid's voice stopped them cold and they turned to find him facing them. Or rather...facing Tori.

"Tori. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" he asked sincerely.

Tori nodded and smiled, and he smiled back. Then, the group continued on their way to Macalania.

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Well I'd say this story is progressing. Another chapter up and a little more info on the spheres. Hmmm...if it's not Zach, and he's speaking about a 'Karone', can anyone tell me who it is?

Anyways, Hope you like this.

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"It talked? Wh-what's going on?"

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Please R+R.

Thank you everyone. :)

Tenshi


	26. Fiends andCactuar Nation?

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Well, this fic is going along nicely, I think. Another chapter ready to go. :)

Trini - Benzo

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your reviews are much appreciated and encourage me to keep going. :)

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(Macalania, Tori's POV)

As we ran through the ever fading woods, we soon came out at the Macalania Travel Agency, and were shocked to see several fiends around it. There was also a lone body lying on the ground, obviously dead.

"The agency!" Dustin cried, knowing people often took refuge there from the cold.

I watched as a couple flans, a few wolves and a few floating eyes moved around and felt my eyes narrow. "Fiends? Here?" I questioned in confusion. After the temple had sunk, I didn't think fiends would ever be seen here again.

"Must be from Macalania Temple. The fact that it's under water doesn't seem to matter." Cassie pointed out as she grabbed her sword.

Shaking his head, Dustin took a quick step forward with his daggers ready. "We can worry about that later!" he cried in horror. "Tori!"

"We have to help them!" I agreed as I grabbed my guns.

"And our fee?" Cassie said with a raised eyebrow.

Blake raised an eyebrow right back at her and shook his head as Dustin turned and responded. "I'll pay you myself! How's that?"

I already knew she was just teasing, and without another word, we rushed into battle. Normally, we wouldn't have any problems with these guys, but for some reason, they were stronger than usual. I took on the floating eyes as Blake took on the wolves. Dustin changed to black mage and used fira on the flans to take them out, thankful they were elementals.

As the last flan faded away, he turned back into thief and helped me with the floating eyes. They too, weren't too difficult, but they were able to dodge a lot of Dustin's attacks, rendering them useless.

Cassie joined in, having also changed to gunner. She wore a black halter top with purple arm warmers and black shorts with a purple half skirt over them. Holding up her two guns, she took aim and charged a Trigger Happy as I joined her.

Dustin took that as his chance to help Blake finish off the last of the wolves.

Soon, we finished the battle and looked around warily as the last of the fiends faded away. I was honestly confused as how or why the fiends appeared, but chose to leave it for another time.

"Think that's the last of them?" Cassie asked as she holstered her guns and turned back into warrior.

Dustin replaced his daggers on his belt and shook his head. "How're the people inside?"

"Let's go look." I said as I raced forward.

Once we entered, there seemed to be a few broken machina and a couple more bodies. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that all the bodies were Al Bhed, and I felt a frown come to my face as I watched the last man standing, slowly slide to the ground as he held his hand over a bad gash on his side.

As we raced up to him, I frowned and shook my head slowly, already knowing we were too late and that there was nothing we could do.

"Fryd fyc ed? Dryd rika cryba, taab fedreh dra myga. E fiend...machina? (What was it? That huge shape, deep within the lake. A fiend...machina?)" he whispered with a hoarse voice as he coughed up blood.

"Don't speak." Dustin urged quietly with tears in his eyes. "Save your strength."

Shaking his head slowly, he pulled out a sphere and handed it to me. "Dyga drec. E vuiht ed rayn dra myga. (Take this. I found it near the lake.)" he whispered before his eyes closed and with a slight convulsion, he died.

Taking the sphere slowly, I identified it as Berserker, and placed it on my Garment Grid before turning back and bowing my head in prayer. "Thank you." I whispered softly.

Taking the time to bury the bodies respectfully, we headed back to the airship quickly. If this was what Macalania was like, I was almost afraid to see the rest of Spira.

(Bikanel)

As we walked into the Bikanel diggers camp, we watched the Al Bhed hurrying back and forth with their usual daily routine. I took the lead and walked over to Syd who looked surprised and majorly relieves to see us and I bit back a wince, wondering what she wanted now.

"Boy, am I glad to see you! We could use your help!" she cried as she ran up.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I nodded. "Fiends?"

Shaking her head, she raised her hand to her forehead and let out a groan. "Not fiends, Cacti."

Blinking a moment, I wondered if she'd been out in the heat too long. Other than being in the way, and being a pain...literally... How could cacti be causing her problems?

"Marnela of the Cactuar Nation has asked to see us."

_Cactuar Nation?_ I wondered silently.

"We've been too busy to spare anyone. If it's not a problem, could you go and meet with her? I'd like to ask you to be our representatives." she said hopefully.

I was still a little confused. What was this Cactuar Nation and who was Marnela? Sighing, I nodded slowly.

As if reading my mind, she gave me a look that said that it was understandable that I was confused. "Don't worry if you haven't heard of it before. We've only recently established diplomatic ties." Turning around she seemed to look for someone. "Trini!"

A young woman with long dark hair and dark eyes came running up as she dusted off her yellow shorts and rearranged her orange tank top. Bowing to us, I realized she looked asian and very kind.

Turning to us, Syd nodded again and gestured to the young woman. "This is Trini. She's our interpreter."

"Very nice to meet you." she said in a light voice as she smiled.

"Hi." I responded, still very lost about what was going on.

"All right. You can take it from here." Syd said as she walked away to tend to other matters.

Turning to me, Cassie shook her head with boredom. "When will you ever learn to say no?"

Sticking my tongue out at her, we took the hover to the places called the Cactuar Nation, and were surprised to find a rather abandoned looking area with several large cacti. Blinking a moment, I felt myself frown as Trini led us to the center of the field and right up to one of the largest cacti there.

"It's cactus central out here!" Dustin cried as he took in the number of gigantic cacti around us.

It kind of was too, seeing as how we've been all through the desert and never once found even one cactus that big.

"So, where's this Marnela?" he continued as he stared at Trini.

Laughing a little, she bowed her head. "Right here." she said with a knowing gleam in her eye.

"Here where?" he asked in confusion as he looked around.

Blinking a moment, I turned to her and shook my head. "You sure we got the right place?"

Suddenly, the cacti beside Trini began moving and making strange squeaking sounds.

Dustin's eyes flew wide and he fell back on his butt as he stared in shock at the unusual cactus. "It talked! Wh-what's going on?" he stuttered.

Turning to it, she nodded and smiled before turning back to us. "This is Marnela." she said with a giggle as she pointed to the cactus. "I'll translate." she said as she turned back to the wiggling cactus. "She's greeting us. 'Hello, Trini.' she says. 'Hello to you too, sphere hunters. I am Marnela of the Cactuar Nation. it does not surprise me that you are startled.' " Trini stopped and giggled. "By the way, she's laughing."

Taking a deep breath, she returned to the explanation. " 'We, the cacti of this nation, were once cactuars. When cactuars mature, they once again become cacti, burying their roots deep into the sand. Thus have we watched over the sands of Bikanel Desert since the dawn of time. Tell me, do you believe what I have told you?' "

Nodding slowly, I honestly did. Everyone already knew that the cacti were here longer than any humans ever were. "It makes perfect sense."

"She says 'Thank you.' " Trini informed us. Turning back to the cacti, she nodded slowly and turned serious. "I think she's about to tell us why she's asked for us here. 'A strange wind has been blowing through the desert. You, too, may have felt the sands trembling beneath your feet.' " She went on to explain about how a 'fearsome fiend' has begun to awaken and how the cactuars were responsible for locking it away in the first place.

It was ten particular cactuars that did so, but now that so much time has passed, they needed to renew the seal. Only one problem. The ten cactuars needed, the 'Ten Gatekeepers', had gone to explore Spira.

We were asked here in order to help them find the ten Gatekeepers and bring them back. It was a dire task, but Marnela also knew about our problem with the temples and fiends, so told us to deal with that first.

Thanking the leader of the Cactuar Nation, and Trini, we left and boarded the airship. We really weren't sure where to go next, but decided to check out the Calm Lands before any place else.

(I didn't write more, because I don't know if this mission will be described later in the script. To be safe, I didn't want to say yes or no. So it's just left at maybe.)

(Calm Lands)

As we walked through the Calm Lands, we noticed nothing really seemed to be wrong. It was still pretty much empty, but a few people would stop now and then to play the games.

We passed by the agency, and then, the new Chocobo Ranch Cole had opened up. Heading to the Gagazet path, I noticed how there was a loud commotion down in the gorge. Looking to the others, I saw their confusion as well, so instead of crossing the bridges to go to Mt. Gagazet, we took a path that went under the bridges, following it down to a large clearing and a cave.

Now, I remembered hearing of this place once. It was a gorge where a very special cave was set. After our pilgrimage two years ago, Hunter had spoken to me privately, telling me of a Summoner who lost her life in this cave, trying to get an Aeon.

A Summoner since had come and sent her, but the Aeon remained in the cave. However, it, along with the others, died the very day Yu Yevon was killed. No one knows how or why, but three Aeons that I'd never found, had died with the others.

Yojimbo, Magus Sisters, and Anima.

All three were what many Summoners called optional Aeons because they weren't necessary.

And all but Yojimbo were found in temples. Magus Sisters and Anima weren't widely known because their temples had been ruined so many years ago. Yojimbo wasn't well known because his Fayth was stolen.

No one even remembers where he first came from, but his Fayth had been stolen by Al Bhed and moved to this cave. Thus, they named it the Cavern of The Stolen Fayth.

As we approached the cavern, I sighed and rolled my eyes at the number of people crying and shaking in fear. As secluded as this place was, they'd come here and gotten themselves in trouble.

"Fiends, from deep within the cave!" a man yelled as he saw us approaching.

Another man nodded in fear. "There are still some people trapped inside! There's nothing we can do to help them..."

_To be honest, I'd had enough. I wanted to blame them for turning a place like this into a tourist attraction._

An old woman came rushing up with fear in her eyes, and as angry as I was, I couldn't fight the urge to help them. "Please, won't you help us rescue the people trapped inside?"

Sighing again, I nodded. "All right, we'll help." I said in a resigned voice.

Entering the cave, we split up into two groups. Blake went with me, and Dustin and Cassie went together. We planned to work from different starting points until everyone was rescued. Dustin and Cassie would begin at the back of the main area, and take the two side rooms we'd learned about, and Blake and I would start at the front.

Things were pretty uneventful, but I frowned as I felt like something was calling me from the hidden Chamber of the Fayth.

Rescuing 15 people, we got the needed energy spheres to start up the teleport pads, and first teleported to the side rooms to rescue the last two people. Leading them out of the cave, we met up and nodded before heading back to the teleport pad and heading into the Chamber of the Fayth.

I gasped as we entered. Where the stone statue must have once stood, a large, gaping hole took it's place. Just like in Bevelle, pyreflies floated up from the seemingly bottomless hole.

But that wasn't what made me gasp.

Appearing as a ghost and solidifying, was a large Aeon like I had never seen before. He looked like a giant humanoid monster dressed as a Samurai, with a wolf-like dog at his side. Turning to us, he glared with angry, glowing red eyes as he unsheathed his katana.

"Please!" I cried as I took a step forward. "Tell us why this is happening!"

Though I'd never bonded to him, I still felt the pain as if I had.

"This is wrong! You have to stop!" Blake called as he came to stand beside me. His sword was in his hand, and his eyes were narrowed with tears in them.

Unfortunately, either the Aeon didn't hear us or he didn't care. Raising his sword, the wolf raced for me, snarling, and Blake just barely managed to block it with his sword. Using his body weight as strength, Blake pushed forward and knocked the wolf back as Cassie changed to gunner and let off a few rounds at it.

Dustin began to attack with his daggers and focused on Yojimbo as I helped him. I aimed my gun and fired Trigger Happy at him as Dustin raced around, slicing at his torso. Realizing how powerful he was, I shook my head. "This isn't going to work, guys! We need a new tactic!"

Blake turned to me and ran over as he sheathed his sword. "Then let's morph!"

Nodding to him, I holstered my guns and raised my morpher. "Ninja Storm!"

Blake followed my lead quickly. "Thunder Storm!"

"Ranger Form! HA!" we chorused together as we morphed.

Reaching within me, I tapped into my power, remembering our last attack. "Power of water!" I cried as I unleashed a jet of water that soaked the wolf. I was aiming for the wolf, because though it wasn't as powerful as Yojimbo himself, it still packed a punch.

Blake seemed to get the idea of what I was doing, and focused on his power too. "Power of thunder!" he called as strong bolts of navy lightning shot down and electrocuted the wolf, causing it to fall over and fade away.

"Ninja Sword!" I called as I grabbed my sword and raced forward. Using my ninja streaking, I raced around the Aeon, slicing it over and over. As I pulled back, Blake followed suit with his thunderstaff.

Once we were done, Cassie and Dustin took their openings to attack and attacked in tandem. Cassie shut off Trigger Happy as Dustin used his blades.

As I watched, Dustin got hit and knocked into a rock wall, where he remained on the ground, unmoving. I raced over to his side and pulled out a phoenix down to revive him, before giving him a hi-potion to heal his wounds.

Turning around, I was met with Blake using his ninja streaking again, as Cassie sliced at the Aeon's stomach. When they pulled back, he slowly knelt down on the ground, and I demorphed to watch as he faded away into pyreflies, a lingering 'I'm sorry' floating through the air.

I watched as Blake demorphed and Dustin walked up to kneel at the edge of the hole.

"Hello!" he cried as he peered into the unending blackness.

Cassie rolled her eyes and shook her head as she stood at his side. "Careful. Someone might answer you." she warned in with a slight grin, watching as he quickly stood up and moved away from the edge.

We exited the cave, and noticed as the people around us all stood up quickly and began to cheer and clap. One of the men from before walked up with a relieved smile and bowed in respect. "I can't thank you enough. I promise you, we won't be doing business here anymore." he said with a firm shake of his head.

Nodding to him, we turned and left, climbing back up the path to the bridges, and crossing them to Mt. Gagazet.

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Talking cactuars...yeah I know, weird. LOL. I raised an eyebrow and thought the same thing when I first played the game. A lot of the side quests, I'm not including because they weren't included in the script. I really don't know if certain things will happen or make sense, because I have yet to see what the script I'm using includes.

Oh yeah, I also realize that any links I provided in chapter notes wouldn't be posted. Sorry about that, I didn't think that would happen. Well if you're curious, email me and I'll send you the script link as well as the link to the battle and sphere change quotes I use.

I wish I remembered this game better so I could do it more from memory, but oh well.

I also realized I made a TON of spelling mistakes in all my previous chapters and apologize for that. I don't have a spell check on my computer. Luckily, while I was on a different computer, I though to check and correct most mistakes. Hopefully, future chapters will be better. I'll just have to keep an eye out.

Hope you like this so far...

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"To make matters worse, Cid ran off a while ago and hasn't come back. I guess that makes me Zanarkand's lone defender."

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Hey! A mention of Shane! I wonder how said it... LOL.

Anyways, R+R please. :)

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi


	27. Gagazet Battle and Zanarkand's Monkeys

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I got bored with the plot for this fic so I decided to do a type of interlude which will show up in the next chapter, before I return to the main plot.

I hope you like this.

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(Mt. Gagazet)

I noted, as we approached, that the main clearing was empty of most Ronso and frowned, approaching Kelk, who looked troubled. When he saw us, he shook his head slowly and sighed.

"Tori must leave." He said sternly. "Ronso youth use force. Seek vengeance for fallen Ronso. Decided to take revenge on Guado. Garik go to battle. Now Garik climb mountain, tell it of battle."

The Ronso respected their mountain a lot, often believing it was a living being which could hear their words and respond in it's own way.

"And you're just gonna wait here?" Dustin asked incredulously.

He shook his head sternly as he stared at us. "Garik hear voice of mountain. Garik change mind. Kelk hope so."

"And if he doesn't?" Cassie questioned with a raised eyebrow, obviously believing that it wasn't about to happen.

Sighing, Kelk bowed his head. "Kelk stop Ronso youth."

"That's crazy!" I shot back, beginning to get annoyed.

Shaking his head, Dustin turned to me with a look of worry. "To, this isn't good!"

Cassie nodded in agreement. "There's still time. Should we follow them?"

I nodded to her before turning to Kelk and looking him straight in the eye. "We're going up. Maybe we can reason with him."

He paused for a moment and seemed to think about what I said, before he slowly nodded and sighed. "If Tori go, Kelk think Garik will listen. Maybe. If not, Kelk deal with Garik."

With a final nod, we raced up the path, following it up the mountain, and bypassing many Ronso on our way. None of them would so much as spare us a glance, so we left them be, instead going after Garik.

Climbing into the peaks, racing through cave, to come out in a large clearing, we stopped as we saw Garik with his back to us. We were surrounded on almost all sides with giant cliffs, and on the one side, a steep drop off. It was a rather intimidating place, but right now, our attention was focused on the angry Ronso in front of us.

"Ronso hold anger no longer!" he called as he turned to face us. "Ronso youth fearless. Go to battle with Guado!"

Taking a step forward, I stared him boldly in the eye. "And if I ask you not to go?" I put in easily as my hands rested over my holstered guns.

"Mountain tell Ronso to go!" he roared.

Frowning, I took a few more steps towards him with a mild glare. "And if you _can't_ go?" I asked as I grabbed my guns and aimed them at his head. I knew it was drastic, but I was ready to do whatever I needed to, to stop the imminent war.

Garik scoffed as he took a single step forward. "Summoner not hold Ronso anger with puny arms!" he put in with disbelief.

"But if I do…" I refused to lower my guns and held them steady, though my heart was pounding a mile a minute. "Will you stop this talk of vengeance?"

He seemed to regard me for a moment before briefly bowing his head. "Very well, but Garik never fall!" he roared angrily.

Dustin sighed and shook his head. "Somebody's a few spheres short of a Garment Grid." He muttered.

Cassie raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Typical Ronso." She agreed.

Raising an eyebrow, he turned and nodded to her before shaking his head. "Good point, but I was talking about Tori." He pointed out.

As they and Blake walked over to join me, arming themselves, two Ronso youths jumped down from a large cliff behind Garik and moved to assist him. "High Summoner Tori! Know true Ronso anger!" Garik roared as the battle began.

I had to quickly dodge an attack as he raced at me, and countered with a volley of shot as the others split up.

Cassie and Dustin took on one of the Ronso youths, as Blake took on the other.

Racing forward with his daggers, Dustin attacked the first youth, only to be knocked back and into the cliff wall. As he lay stunned, on the ground, Cassie took the moment of distraction to race forward and slice the Ronso across the back, taking his attention from the stunned Al Bhed.

Blake was having his own problems, as the Ronso he face as stronger than he was. So with a groan, he tapped into his ninja powers and streaked around the Ronso as he charged his blade with his thunder powers. With a strike across the side of the youth, he jumped back and panted a moment, charging his powers again.

I took on Garik alone, dodging his attacks and countering with my own. I wasn't doing much damage, but then again, it wasn't my intention. I was more concerned with keeping him busy while his accomplices were taken down, so that the others could help me focus on him alone.

As Dustin managed to get back to his feet, he shook his head and downed a potion before glaring at the Ronso and racing forward angrily. "Oooh!" Slicing his daggers angrily across the Ronso youth's other side, he watched in satisfaction as he fell to the ground weakly.

Cassie in turn, turned her attention to the other Ronso youth while Blake dodged yet another attack, and jumped forward to block a strike before counter attacking.

I was still facing off against Garik and was beginning to get tired, when Dustin jumped in and began his attack. With a spin kick, he knocked Garik off balance and sliced him twice with his twin daggers before jumping back to my side.

"Need a little help?" he asked with a wry smirk and raised eyebrow.

Turning to him I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, thanks. What took you so long?" I shot back in a whining tone.

He was about to retort when Garik attacked again, and we were forced to dodge it. Spinning to me, he groaned and jumped out of the way of a powerful attack by the enraged Ronso. "Less talk! More fight!" he cried as he counter attacked.

Cassie and Blake finally managed to finish off the other Ronso youth and came over to join us, though Blake was limping due to a gash on his leg. Seeing him hurt, I felt my heart painfully lurch and raced forward. As Garik swept his hand out in front of him, I jumped up, landing on his arm and running up it to jump off his shoulder, flipping in the air so that my feet were over my head and I was facing him.

Quickly lining up my guns, I fired a Trigger Happy at him as I fell, before flipping to land in a crouch and slowly standing up at Blake's side. Spinning one gun around my finger, I swiftly holstered it and reached into my pouch for a hi-potion, my fingers brushing the dried petals of the moonlilies Blake had picked for me. Pulling the potion out, I threw it to the ground at Blake's feet and watched as he inhaled the mist, the gash on his leg healing immediately.

"Thanks." he said with a quick smile as he nodded. Turning back to Garik, he smirked and raced forward, tapping into his ninja streaking and moving faster than the Ronso could keep up with. Following his lead, I too tapped into my ninja streaking, and we were two streaks of light and navy blue, circling around him.

As we rushed back to our friends' sides, we stopped and panted as Garik fell to his knees weakly, and I slowly stood up as i holstered my guns, walking over to stand several feet in front of him. "_Enough_ vengeance, Garik!" I scolded with a glare.

"Ronso keep word." he said reluctantly as he slowly stood up. "Garik underestimate Tori. Garik now understand he is weak in battle. Garik wait. Destroy Guado after he become better warrior." he said with a growl as he and the two Ronso youths took off.

"That's not what I meant!" I cried after him. Groaning, I turned to the others and signaled that we should head back. There were still many places to go and much to do.

(Zanarkand Ruins)

Walking into the now seemingly abandoned ruins, I smirked to myself in seeing that many of the tourists had fled, leaving the place to the monkeys. As we headed into the temple, I noticed that Billy was still there and raised an eyebrow as we walked over.

Greeting us with a worried bow, he sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I've heard that fiends have been appearing at the temples. Do you know anything?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

"They come from the Chambers of the Fayth." I explained with a sigh and a shake of my head.

He nodded slowly, a wince crossing his features. "It pains me to hear that."

I figured it would. Just like me, he was a former Summoner and had bonded with the Aeons in much a similar manner as I had.

"And Zanarkand?" Cassie put in with a raised eyebrow, a look of minor concern crossing her face.

Shaking his head, Billy turned to look out over the vast ruins. "There are fiends, as always. No more and no less. But the ruin tours are another matter." Turning back to us, he gestured with irritation to the loads of monkeys running around.

I bit my lip hard to keep from giggling as I saw the monkeys we had paired up, running around with their mates, and their children. It was kind of funny that they'd gotten so far so fast, but even funnier when you saw the irony. 'Blake' was running around with 'Tori' behind him. She was quite obviously pregnant and holding another baby in her arms, and he held two. The sight made me blush and I felt my Blake staring at me, but couldn't meet his eyes as I continued to watch the monkeys play.

Then, there was 'Marah' and 'Dustin'. They each held two babies and 'Marah' had a third on her back.

A tiny little baby monkey raced by, and a moment later, a furious looking 'Hunter' chased after it, angrily chittering as he tried to catch the infant, and a content looking 'Kelly' was holding two more in her arms as she walked calmly behind him.

I also watched as 'Sensei' chased after 'Lothor' until the freaky looking monkey fell off a ledge to a lower floor and ran off chittering angrily.

I had to bite back tears when I recalled our battles against Lothor, and how our enemies always swore they'd come back and would win another day. I really missed those times.

"The only things thriving here, are the monkeys." Billy finished calmly.

Smiling almost cheekily, I nodded.

"To make matters worse, Cid ran off a while ago and hasn't come back. I guess that makes me Zanarkand's lone defender." he sighed. "Well, time to do some defending. Until next time." He left the temple, leaving us alone with the monkeys.

Smiling at the monkeys, we left the temple and headed out of Zanarkand, going back to the Celsius as we plotted out next stop. Since most places we'd checked seemed to be ok for the most part, we decided to begin checking the villages with temples, beginning with the island of Besaid.

Frowning to myself, I hoped that Hunter, Shane, Kelly and Skyla were ok.

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A shorter chapter, but the next part is something I wanted to leave until after the interlude.

Hope you like this.

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"Like _hell_ you didn't have a choice!" he hissed in a lower tone as he glowered at the Samurai. "You could have called any of us first. Called us all at the same time. But no, you called my baby brother, _knowing_ he would rush off!"

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What do you think?

Please R+R.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi


	28. Interlude

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Summary of Chapter** : This is a little side bit to Saving Spira Again that I am adding in as a single chapter. Everything's about Spira, Tori and Blake, but what about the former Rangers? How are they dealing with the fact that Blake has gone missing again?

**Note** : I just got an idea of doing this chapter. The whole story as been taking place in Spira, but... What about the former Rangers? Thinking about what **ThunderBrosRule27** said about the brotherly love, I wanted to do a chapter on Blake and Hunter's relationship, not using the script for FF and not along Spira's travels. This chapter is dealing with the Rangers, their thoughts and how they're dealing with Blake being gone again.

Basically, I dedicate this chapter to **ThunderBrosRule27.**

But also, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to **Pinklen98** and **JuseaPeterson**, dedicated readers/reviewers.

Without your support, I couldn't have gotten this far in these fics. Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart:)

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(Back in Ninja Ops)

"You just let him go?!" Hunter screamed at the former Green Ranger as the remainder of the group got together in the Ninja Ops. He was pacing the ground furiously, terrified and pissed as hell that his brother was gone...again.

Two years ago, he almost had a heart attack when Blake went missing from the Zanarkand ruins. They'd split up to search the place, when evidently, the Navy Ranger ran into some trouble. They'd gotten word of a strange energy reading in his viscinity, but when they called him through their morphers, all they got was static.

That's when his bio signature disappeared and he vanished.

For days afterwards, Hunter spent his spare time going back to those ruins and searching for his baby bro, the last of his family. And at nights, he would go to bed, praying that his brother would be in the next room when he woke up.

He never did get any sleep those nights. He spent that time, tossing and turning as visions of what could have happened flashed through his mind. And the times he _did_ sleep, he was plagued by nightmares of his brother calling out to him for help, but not being able to find him.

He even began to reminisce over past times he spent with his brother, and remembered when he and Shane had been fighting over the leader business. Looking back at it now, it all seemed so foolish, but back then, he took it so seriously.

**Flashback**

He was trying skateboarding. Shane had signed up and he was determined to beat him, show him up. He felt he should be the leader of the team, and Shane felt _he_ should. It was annoying as hell, and everytime he tried to discuss it rationally, he'd see the cocky gleam in Shane's eyes and would blow his top.

Total Trek, it was called. Started with a skateboarding bit, a run through the woods, motocross and an 'urban climb' as Kelly called it. For the most part, it seemed simple enough, but whereas Shane knew next to nothing about motocross, he knew next to nothing about skateboarding.

So they called in support and witnesses.

Shane called in Dustin to help him train in motocross, and Hunter called in Blake for moral support in skateboarding.

Though, it seemed, Blake spent more time laughing and wincing than being supportive.

"So, whaddaya call that?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow as he was obviously trying not to laugh, helping Hunter up from the ground.

Wincing, he hissed in pain and held his back as he turned to give his little bro a mock offended look. As much as he was irritated, he knew better than to take his anger out on his baby brother, who was just teasing. "I'm just getting lose." He said as he picked up the skateboard.

"Yeah." Blake put in with a grin as he backed off, looking at the skateboard. "So is your board, bro." Chuckling, he moved farther away as Hunter prepared to try again.

"I gotta beat this guy!" Hunter put in frantically, not wanting to lose as he put down his board and stepped on it. "I don't care what I have to do."

Blake nodded and winced again before shaking his head. "My advice to you? Get a stunt double." he shot back as Hunter took off again, only to flip and land on his back.

**End Flashback**

After getting over his problems with Shane, he and Blake often laughed about that day. And whenever Blake would bring up that little stunt of his, Hunter would come back with the new navy surfing shirt Blake had been wearing to impress Tori. It was obvious that was supposed to be a not-so-subtle hint that he liked her, but with those two... She never figured it out and Blake never had the guts to tell her.

And whenever he brought up the shirt, Blake would blush like mad and find a reason to leave the room quickly.

Remembering that, it brought tears to his eyes as he wondered if he'd ever have any more moments like those.

Cam sighed and shook his head as he took in the other two former Rangers who were standing in the room with shock and pain written over their faces. He'd just brought them in after 24 hours of searching in vain for Blake's morpher signature.

Even without the power running through them, they could still be tracked and he went over every square inch of the ruins, Blue Bay and anywhere else he could think of, hoping to find him.

But...he knew it would be in vain. He also felt it was a mistake to tell Blake alone about that portal, knowing the Navy Ranger would rush in without a second thought. Yes, he blamed himself, but he felt he needed to be strong.

Part of him felt like this was for the best, and that he'd turn up fine...hopefully, with Tori by his side. As much as he wouldn't admit it, he missed her. Tori was like the little sister he never had. She was always there for him and understood him.

"I didn't have a-" he began weakly, trying to defend himself, only to be cut off by the enraged former Crimson Ranger.

"Like hell!" Hunter shouted as he rounded on Cam and stalked over. "Like _hell_ you didn't have a choice!" he hissed in a lower tone as he glowered at the Samurai. "You could have called any of us first. Called us all at the same time. But no, you called my baby brother, _knowing_ he would rush off!" The venom grew in his voice as tears erupted in his eyes. "And now my baby bro's gone. NOW HE'S GONE CAM!" he screamed as he punched the wall, his fist flying right through it. Blinking back the blinding tears, he pulled his hand fro the wall and ignored the nasty cuts on his knuckles and pain running up his arm.

"Hunter, I think Cam has a point." Shane put in quietly. He didn't look happy, but not nearly as angry as the former Crimson. "Think about it bro, Blake might be the only one who could bring Tori back, and you know his feelings about her."

"Yeah." Dustin agreed grimly. "Dude, like, I think he'd be in your place if Cam called us first or didn't call him, you know?"

"At least he'd be _here_!" Hunter growled.

They all fell silent at that. Yeah, he'd be angry as hell, but he'd be here and they'd know he was safe. Losing Tori had been hard on all of them, but losing Blake too was even worse. They all knew the depth of love the two brothers shared, and could only speculate at how much it hurt Hunter that his baby brother was gone.

"That is enough." Sensei said calmly as he entered the room. "Though I may believe Cam has errored in summoning Blake alone to this task, I have faith that he will return, and with Tori no less." He too was hurt, but pushed back his feelings of worry, having full faith that both the Rangers would return to them in one piece.

"Dude, he loves her." Dustin said with a shrug, as if it explained everything.

In a way, it did. Hunter sighed and closed his eyes, a few crystaline tears running down his pale cheeks. He seriously began to wish he hadn't come when he'd heard the summons. But in a way, he was glad too. It put aside worries that Blake might've been attacked and hurt in another city. At least...with him in Spira with Tori...there was still a chance. A change he was alive. A chance he could come back.

**Flashback**

He was training new students, surprised, but trying not to show it, when one of them turned out to be all too familiar.

"Kelly?" he questioned incredulously as he saw the familiar red head and his former boss/current girlfriend in the group before him. Turning to the other new students, he assigned them to Leanne to be set up into their schedules and moved over to speak to the obviously shocked young woman.

She blinked a couple of times as she took in the handsome blonde in front of her, standing tall and dressed in almost regal looking black robes of the head Sensei with crimson trim. "H-Hunter?" she asked, her voice choked with surprise. Why was he here? Was he always a ninja?

"I'm...surprised to see you here." he said awkwardly. Walking with her, into the woods, he sighed. "And I bet you have a ton of questions." he finished dryly.

"A few." she admitted quietly.

Nodding, he sat at the base of a tree and sighed as he gestured for her to do the same. Taking a deep breath, he opted for a brief summary of what was going on, and then chose to answer whatever questions he could.

The talk had taken the better part of the day, and for a short while, Kelly was royally mad at him for holding so much back and lying at times, but eventually, she'd learned to accept it and forgave him. She took in stride that Ranger identities were supposed to be secret, and so were Ninja Academies, and it did explain a lot.

"So, you're a Ranger." she put in idly as she stared at the woods. "I guess it explains how you always took off at random times and came up with lame excuses." Then, her eyes widened and she gasped. "But wait...the others..." Turning to him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

He nodded again. "Yep, them too." he said lightly. Then he frowned and raised an eyebrow at her. "And those weren't lame excuses." he shot back in a mock offended tone.

"Oh please!" she laughed as she looked at him in clear amusement.

He was about to retort when a student came running up with a wild look about his eyes. "Sensei! Sensei!" Stopping in front of them, he bowed deeply. "Word has come from the Wind Ninja Academy from a Sensei Cam and he says it's urgent!" he spit out quickly.

A thousand thoughts passed through his head and he felt his eyes widen. "What?" he choked out as he quickly stood. What was it? Was the earth in danger again? Was Lothor back? Was it something worse? Were one of the others hurt? Was it Sensei? Was it Shane or Dustin? Blake?

Oh, GOD! Blake! What if...?

Suddenly springing into action, he nodded briskly. "Thank you. Now I need you to go to Sensei Amino and tell him I need to take emergency leave."

"He already knows Sensei. He's the one who sent me and he told me to tell you to take whatever time you need." the student responded immediately.

Being shocked into silence a moment, Hunter tried to process this news as he stood there dumbly.

Kelly, sensing that something was really wrong, walked over to his side and gently touched his shoulder. Leaning forward, she gave his cheek a light kiss and whispered in his ear. "Go."

No further words were needed. Turning to her, he hugged her tightly for a moment before streaking away.

As he ran through the newly built Wind Ninja Academy, he dimly noted the number of confused stares he got, but ignored them as he raced down to the old Ninja Ops.

Shane and Dustin were already waiting there with grim looks on their faces, and Hunter grew worried as he looked around for his little brother. "Where's Blake?" he asked warily, already dreading the news.

"He's gone." Cam answered wearily as he turned around in his chair and presented his worried and guilty face. "He left to Spira again."

"S-Spira?" Hunter's eyes had grown large at that and he felt his heart breaking all over again. Blake had told them all of his and Tori's journey in that world, and about how many times they had almost died, and he had gone back already? No, scratch that, he WENT BACK??? Narrowing his eyes at Cam, he growled as he took a single step forward, his fists clenching at his sides. "What did you do?" he questioned in a deceptively calm voice.

"Dude.." Dustin tried to intervene.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Hunter roared, cutting off the earth Sensei.

"I told him about a portal, and he left to check it out. Then his signature vanished." Sighing, Cam shook his head and removed his glasses, rubbing at his eyes wearily. "He went back to Spira."

**End Flashback**

"Why didn't you tell him to wait?" Hunter questioned hoarsely as he wiped futilely at his tears.

"I tried but he did something to his phone and I couldn't get through, and he wouldn't answer the communicator I built for everyone." Sighing, he shook his head. "I found it in his suite with the fried remains of his phone."

"And that all comes back to 'you let him leave'." Hunter said wearily. He knew his brother, and his feelings for Tori. Tori was like a little sister to him as well, but Blake _was_ his family. His only remaining family, and he'd lost him.

As much as he wanted to hate the others, he couldn't. As much as he wanted to scream and trash the place, he couldn't. He couldn't speak or move as his legs gave out under him and he sank to his knees on the ground, crying for his lost brother. He knew, part of him knew, that Blake was still alive, but...he felt he'd lost him. He felt his heart lurch painfully and beat erratically. He felt his pained gasps as he struggled to breathe.

He felt the pain in his hand and saw the bleeding knuckles. He felt the arms around him and heard the sweet whispers of comfort from Kelly's voice.

His eyes shot open wide as he turned and was barely able to make out Kelly's pale and worried face beside him as she held him and rocked him.

"It'll be ok. He'll come back. You have to believe in him. You have to believe he'll come back to you." she almost chanted quietly as she leaned forward and buried his face in her neck.

_I need him. I need my baby bro._ he thought weakly as he cried into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tightly, rocking with her. "I need him." he croaked as the tears began to pour anew.

"We all do, bro." Shane said quietly as he knelt down and put a hand on Hunter's shoulder.

"We all do." Cam echoed, and everyone turned to see the tears running down his cheeks. "We need them both." he said in a whisper.

Two female voices were heard, but no one moved to look as Marah and Kapri came down the stairs with worried looks. Stopping at the bottom, they immediately took in the tension in the room and moved to their respective boyfriends.

Marah immediately went to Dustin's side and wrapped her arms around his waist as he wrapped hia arms around her neck and pulled her close, his silent tears trickling down her neck.

Kapri stood by the door hesitantly as she saw Shane crouching by a broken Hunter's side. Seeing her hesitation, he slowly stood up and walked over, hugging her tightly as she clung to him for dear life. Yes, she knew about his feelings for the deceased Skyla, but also knew he was slowly moving on.

And neither girl had to ask what was wrong. They'd both come by earlier that day and overheard Cam cursing, making him tell them what happened. They knew for a while that Tori was gone to Spira and was somehow stuck there, but now Blake had gone back to be with her and no one knew if he'd ever return.

"We must have faith that they will return to us." Sensei said quietly, his own face streaked with tears.

Hunter buried his face once again back into the neck of his girlfriend, taking comfort in her presence. _Bro, please come back man. I need you._ he thought sadly as he allowed himself to drift from consciousness.

The group of Rangers, former villains and Sensei Watanabi, all grieved for the disappearance of the second Ranger from their team, praying with all their hearts that both Tori and Blake would return to them, and not noticing the evil aura growing nearby.

(Meanwhile, In Another Place)

"It's almost time." a dark voice hissed as the violet power swirled around the large cavernous room. Jumping across a lava pit, a dark figure sneered. "I'll be back and I'll make those power punks pay for what they did." he spat before laughing evilly.

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OMG! I have tears in my eyes and shivers up my spine from that chapter. I really hope you like it. For those of you probably curious...I put Spiran Shane with Skyla, because I believe they should have been together, but that's just my opinion. Since Skyla is gone on earth, I put Shane with Kapri.

Oh yeah, and I made the time different. 24 hours on earth, but my story has progressed into a few days into Blake's return to Spira. Ummm...yeah, well, I can't think of how to explain if he left it for a few days without telling the others. Hunter would literally kill him for that if he did, so...

That came out a little more...angsty? Than I meant it too. I just learned that someone I knew from school died in a car crash this past week, and a lot of my friends are really suffering for it. I didn't know him well, so it doesn't hurt me much. What hurts me is that a good man died too young and that so many people are suffering because of it. But yeah, my mind's a little angsty.

The ending is meant more of...a hint, maybe, towards the ending... I realize I made it sound like Blake wasn't coming back, but I promised a happy ending, and a happy ending is what people are going to get.

Sorry for the Hunter pain, but I'm trying to show how deep his love for Blake goes. He'll be ok and there will be happiness for him too. :)

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"Any fiends they missed may still be wandering around. Shane and the others split up to check around. Give them a hand."

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So...How was this chapter?

R+R please and let me know.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	29. More Dark Aeons

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** :

**JuseaPeterson** - Hmmm...How can Blake and Dustin fight with seeing Tori and Cassie in that outfit? Well, I really don't know. I suppose the threat could be enough to temporarily take their minds off it. To be honest, I didn't have any plans to use the outfit in battles, but we could see. Carlos? You'll see very soon. That should also explain a lot of why Cassie is why she is and a bit on what's going on.

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(Besaid)

Rushing into town, I noticed a few people helping wounded fighters and felt my heart drop. It was obvious that the attacks happened here too and I worried for my friends and their pregnant wives. Running straight into Hunter's house, I saw him there with Kelly and Skyla. The looks on their faces told me that nothing was really wrong, but I still worried when I didn't see Shane with them.

Still, I put it off as I approached, trusting their expressions to tell me that nothing was wrong. "The fiends?" I asked carefully.

"They're coming from inside the temple." Hunter said with a slightly worried frown. "But it's alright. Shane and the others fought them off."

But the expression on his face, I got the distinct impression that he wanted to fight too, but knew the value of staying home to take care of Kelly and Skyla.

"Luckily, no one was hurt." he finished and then shook his head with a sigh as a man limped by, as he adjusted to his newly healed leg. "Too _seriously_ hurt." he corrected quickly.

Adam, who'd followed us, nodded and seemed disappointed. "I guess Your Friendly Neighbourhood Gullwings won't be needed."

Hunter raised his eyebrow at Adam and tilted his head a little as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Any fiends they missed may still be wandering around. Shane and the others split up to check around. Give them a hand."

Perking up immediately, Adam nodded and smiled. "The Gullwings are on the job. We'll even give you our special bargain price." he said with a sly grin.

I felt my face heat up and smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand as Hunter's eyebrow skyrocketed.

"That's nice." he said in a slightly put out tone.

Giggling, I shook my head and offered him an apologetic look. "Sorry Hunter." I said with a small shrug.

He smiled as he shook his head and held up one hand. "That's ok, it's all right. Now go, take a look around. People in the village will feel better knowing you are here, Tori." he said gently as he shooed us out of his house and pointed towards the temple.

Watching as he re-entered his house with a smile, I frowned and turned my attention to the temple. I couldn't help but think og Bevelle underground and the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. What if...Besaid temple was the same way? What if...

"Hey Tor!"

Jumping a bit in surprise, I turned and noticed Ethan kneeling next to Hunter's cabin, working on what looked like an average sized blue half sphere built into a mobile base. Blinking for a moment, I decided I'd been spending way too much time with the whiz kid,but approached anyways as my curiosity grew over the creation he was working on.

"Whatcha up to?" I asked as I stood a few feet behind him and clasped my hands behind my back.

He grinned up at me as he finished working on a few wires. "Installing a commsphere. You never know when you might need one."

"A new invention of yours?" I asked and he nodded as Brother's voice came through the commsphere clearly.

"Ethan, did you fall and get a boo-boo?" he asked in a slightly mocking voice.

Grinning a bit, Ethan stodd up and backed away. "The perfect guinea pig."

I blinked and giggled, thinking back to Sensei when he said that. Looking at him, I noticed him gesturing for me to move closer, so I did.

"Oh!' his voice came through again, practically radiating joy and excitement. "I can see Tori!"

"The comsphere transmits an image back to the ship." Ethan explained with a smug grin.

"Oh! Neat!" I said as I knelt down over the sphere and waved into it.

"More! More!" Broter chanted happily and I raised an eyebrow, backing away from the comsphere as I stood up.

"How asinine." Ethan grumbled as he knelt back down to do final checks of the equipment.

"Tori!"

Sighing a little, I turned to see Dustin and the others running towards me with concerned looks on their faces.

"Tori! Something's up!" Dustin cried as he pointed back to the temple where Sky and Shane stood, obviously arguing about something.

Running over, we were able to overhear their conversation, and it wasn't pretty. To hear what Sky had suggested...it felt like I'd been stabbed in the heart.

"What's there to decide Shane? We an finish off the fiends once and for all, right here and now!" Sky shouted as he glared at the former blitzer.

Shaking his head, Shane sighed. "Burning down the temple is going too far." he said calmly.

"You have another suggestion?" Sky shot back in irritation.

Sighing loudly, Shane looked towards the temple silently.

"We have to do something. What if the fiends keep coming? Or maybe you don't mind putting your family in danger." he said with a sneer.

Shane's head shot around and he glared at Sky angrily. "Hey! All we gotta do is stop the fiends, ya?" Without waiting for an answer, he took off into the temple with his trusty blitzball at his side, and Sky on his heels.

Exchanging a worried and not too happy look with the others, we raced in after them and found Sky standing huffily at the base of the stairs leading to the Cloister of Trials. Seeing us approach, he rooled his eyes and shook his head. "Shane's inside." he said in a monotone. "It would be so simple to burn this place to the ground. Praying here never did anyone any good. You're the High Summoner, you should know that."

Without saying a word to him, I began to climb the stairs with the others behind me, when his voice caused us to stop.

"Going to help him? I won't wait much longer."

I didn't even bother to turn around as I felt my eyes narrow. "You want to see it burn that bad?" I asked softly.

"It's for the safety of the village." he answered easily.

To be honest, I had a hard time believing that. Personally, it seemed he had some sort of personal vendetta against the temples, but for what reason, I didn't know. Without wasting another moment on him, I rushed into the Cloister with the others and ran through until we came upon Shane by the elevator to the Chamber of the Fayth. He looked a little beat up as he sat against the wall, and I frowned in worry as we rushed up to him.

"Shane!" I called, catching his attention.

Dustin stopped at my side and looked over him worriedly. "You ok?" he asked.

Shrugging a little, he winced and rubbed a bruised shoulder. "Just a few bruises, eh? Nothin' to worry about." he said nonchalantly.

Cassie looked around at the roaming fiends and frowned before turning back to us. "There's too many. We should get out while we can. The man was right, we have to use fire." she told us emotionlessly.

I frowned at her and turned to Shane who seemed to chose to ignore her as he turned to face the elevator.

"Whatever's controlling the fiends, must be down there. Take that bad boy out..." he stated firmly.

"And we won't _need_ fire." I finished absently as I stared at the elevator. It used to seem to welcome in these Cloisters. Two years ago, even after the Aeons were gone, the Cloisters still seemed somewhat welcome. But now...I sensed only dread and felt tears come to my eyes, already having a good idea about what I was going to face down there.

"Fair enough." Cassie admitted with a nod.

I smiled gratefully to her for that. For as emotionless as she could sometimes seem, I knew that deep down, she had a heart and was open to suggestions.

"Shane, stay here." I said as we started for the elevator.

He frowned in confusion. "Why?" he simply asked as he slowly stood and leaned heavily against the wall.

_Because you're hurt. Because I don't want you to see what's coming._ I thought sadly as I looked at the ground.

Dustin walked over and nudged him lightly in the stomach with his elbow, smiling, though I could see the worry in his eyes. "Wouldn't want you to overdo it, _daddy_." he said, reminding Shane of his pregnant wife.

As we stood on the elevator and it began to glow, he frowned again and took a step closer. "Hey! Wait up!" he protested as the elevator began to descend.

Descending to the chamber below, we walked through and into the Chamber of the Fayth, where I stopped and felt tears run down my cheeks at what I saw.

Valefor. Or, at least...it used to be. The once brightly colored Aeon was now a dark, murky grey with rage filled red eyes as it glared at us from where it hovered...above another giant black hole.

Hearing footsteps behind us, I spun around to see Shane staring in horrified shock at the creature before us as he leaned against the wall in the doorway and clutched his shoulder. "An Aeon?" he whispered in disbelief.

Shaking my head, I turned back as more tears fell. "No..." I answered quietly, but still loud enough for him to hear. "Something's not right." _But what? What's going on?_

"Shane, stay back! It's not safe!" Dustin cried as Valefor charged at us and we armed ourselves.

Shaking my head, I took a step back as I shakily aimed my guns at the Aeon. Images crossed my mind where I first got Valefor and our journey. How happy I was to have it and how gntle it was. Now, it was a dark and twisted monster, and I felt my eyes narrow into slits as I glared at it. I didn't know how this happened, but I certainly planned to find out!

I began to fire as Blake and Cassie jumped back from their attack, and jumped myself, dodging an attack. Then Dustin raced forward and swiped a mega-potion from it before slicing it with his daggers.

Racing to my side, Blake stared at the Aeon with sad eyes as he charged his thunder powers. "I can't believe this is happening." he muttered as he unleashed the attack.

Nodding, I charged a Trigger Happy and began firing as Cassie jummped out of my way. "I know." I responded shakily.

Cassie raced to the edge of the hole and jumped, flipping to kick the Aeon in the chest before slicing it across the same area as she fell back to roll across the ground and come up at our sides.

"Hey!" Dustin cried as he stood at our side. "Tag team!"

Cassie seemed to get what he meant and together, they changed into their Gunners and charged up Triger Happys with me. Together, the three of us attacked with a huge barrage of bullets as Blake fired Navy thunder energy, and we watched helplessly as the Aeon fell to the ground in front of the hole, fading away into pyreflies.

I felt myself frown as I heard the mental thoughs of my former Aeon as it disappeared once more. _We couldn't stop him. He did this..._

He did this? Who? And what did he do? I didn't understand, and felt more tears fall as we turned to face Shane who was kneeling on the floor with a horrified look on his face. Cassie and Dustin changed back into their respective dresspheres and we walked over slowly.

"That was my very first Aeon." I whispered sadly, feeling an arm wrap around my waist and pull me against a warm body. Looking up, I saw the same pain echoed in Blake's eyes. It may have been my very first Aeon, but just shortly after finding it was when we were first reunited on this strange world.

Cassie turned back to the hole a moment with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmmm..." was all she said.

I think, we thought the same thing. So far, every temple or place where an Aeon once laid, was filled with fiends and had one of those gaping holes. I now knew the fiends came from here, herded by the Dark Aeons as I took to calling them. But...there were still so many questions!

"I grew up here, in Besaid." I said, feeling the emotions and pain of Spiran Tori. "I became a Summoner here." These weren't my words, even if they were coming from my mouth.

_I first met you here._

"I have to protect this place." That was more a combination of both our feelings.

Shane stood up, mostly healed by one of Dustin's hi-potions, and walked over with a sad frown. "Tori." he said quietly.

Leaving the chamber, we backtracked through the entire cloister until we came back out at the top of the stairs, seeing Sky waiting below with an impatient look on his face. When he saw us, he stood up straight and turned his full attention on us.

"Job's done." Cassie said with a shrug.

"I see." he said as he checked us out one by one. "Glad to see you're not hurt." he said, until his eyes landed on Shane who still sported a slight limp and he sighed. "Or are you?" Shaking his head, he shot a disapproving glare at Shane through narrowed eyes. "Aren't you going to be a father soon? What if something had happened to you?"

For all his cold words, and the cold glare he was giving, I heard the hidden worry in his voice and began to wonder if maybe...there was more to Sky than met the eye.

As he left the temple, Dustin bounded down the stairs and frowned at the door. "Quiet meanie!" he yelled into the empty room.

"It's ok." Shane said quietly as we all turned to look at him. Scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin, he shrugged. "What can I say? He's got a point." he admitted.

"Shane..." I started with a frown, knowing he felt guilty for going off to fight while Skyla sat at home, worried about him and carrying his child.

Shaking his head, he looked away. "If we die trying to save one memory, we risk losing them all..."

"But, what if it's a really important memory?" Dustin asked with a frown.

Giving him a slight grin, Shane raised an eyebrow. " 'Memories are nice, but that's all they are'. It's an Al Bhed saying, ya?" he pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but..."

Without listening, Shane walked out of the temple, and we followed behind. Finding him standing at the edge of town, we stopped to chat some more when my com went off. Raising it to my mouth, I activated it and listened to what Brother had to say.

"Tori, you ok?" Brother asked in a bored tone.

"Yeah, just fine." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"I'll be waiting..." he said as the link cut off and I felt my face heat upa I stared in shock at the com. He was really beginning to embarrass me and I wished he would stop with the sicko crush already.

"Talk about a one-track mind." Cassie said with a raised eyebrow in my direction.

As Dustin and Cassie left the scene, Shane walked up and sighed. "Memories are just...memories, ya?" he said with a frown, his words not sounding so convinced. "Fiends ever come out of the temple again, we may really have to burn it."

"I guess so." I hesitantly admitted. "But call me before you do. We'll save fire as a last resort."

"You got it." he agreed before bidding us a farewell and racing towards Hunter's cabin.

As we left Besaid, I sighed and took Blake's hand. This journey to find more spheres with Zach, was turning more into a journey to save Spira again, than anything else.

(Kilika)

Our next stop was the village of Kilika, and I felt relieved to see that no one appeared the slightest bit worried about the fiend rumor. Kids were still running around and people were walking the bridges happily. Still, I _did_ notice the additional Youth League warriors stationed in different areas, and the two at the gate that seemed to be turning everyone away.

"We can't get in the direct approach." Cassie pointed out. "So what now?"

Dustin clapped his hands and turned to us with a grin. "Why not go see Kimberly? She lives here so she might be able to help." he said with a shrug.

As much as I really didn't want to deal with her again, I knew we didn't have much of a choice, so I nodded in agreement and turned to make my way to her cabin, knowing the others were right behind me.

As we walked in, I saw her standing in the same place as usual, and when she heard us, she turned to stare at us with a blank look on her face. "My, my, my, my... What brings you here?" she asked in a surprised look as her eyes widened a little.

"We heard fiends were coming from the temple." I explained.

"And you just _had_ to come running." she stated with a knowing look as she raised an eyebrow.

Blushing, I looked away. "Well, uh, I wouldn't say that..." I tried to defend myself.

Kimberly sighed and shook her head. "I'm not even so sure there are fiends at the temple." she admitted as she shrugged.

"You haven't checked?" Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Turning a cool gaze on her, Kimberly blinked a moment with a 'duh' look in her eyes. "I'm in the Youth League." she said as if speaking to a child, before turning serious and raising her hands in defeat. "Do you really think they'd let me in the temple?"

"So now what? We give up?" Dustin asked hopelessly as he turned to look at us.

Shaking my head, I _knew_ we had to get to the temple. "Let's take a look first." I insisted firmly.

"You'll never get near the temple." Kimberly pointed out as she pointed to me. "The Youth League's blockaded the forest entrance, as they should. We can't have those Yevon vermin crawling into town, now, can we?" Sighing, she turned and looked out the window. "Besides, it spares me from having to see that sulky face." she added on in a quietter tone.

"Sulky face...Oh! You mean Tommy?" Dustin asked curiously.

"Of course." she agreed. "He's with New Yevon, so naturally he's in the temple." She seemed to think she said to much and her eyes widened before she cleared her throat and shrugged indifferently. "But then, it's really none of my business." she added hastily.

"Then we'll make it ours." I said firmly as I looked at the others. "Besides, I'm worried about the fiends."

Sighing, she dropped her head and nodded. "If you want to go that badly, I won't stop you, but they're turning people away at the gate." She closed her eyes and looked away a moment before snapping them open and turning to us with an almost evil grin. "I've got it! I'll distract one of the guards. That's your chance to run through." she said as she walked out of the house.

Once I knew she was safely out of earshot, I giggled and turned to the others with a grin. "I knew she was worried about him!"

We waited a few minutes before leaving her home and walking up the bridges to the gate. Hiding behind a corner, we kept an eye on the guards and noticed that Kimberly had one distracted. They were chatting like old friends, but every once in a while, he would turn to check the gate, leaving her to _demand_ his attention again.

"I think it's working!" Dustin hissed excitedly.

Cassie nodded. "That leaves one. Let's wait for our chance and take it." she adivsed.

The other guard Cassie was talking about, would occasionally open the gate for a Youth League warrior, and would turn away to do so. But otherwise, his attention was always on the gate. That meant, we had to wait for a warrior and time our run perfectly so it fit in where Kimberly's guard was looking at her, and the other guard was looking at the panel for the gate.

It took a little while, but we eventually got our chance. Running quietly up the bridge, we ran through the gate and let out a sigh of relief as we stood on the other side.

"You! What are you diong?" a guard shouted from behind us and I couldn't help the startled gasp that escaped.

Spinning around, we noticed Kimberly there, grinning at us and she nodded as the gate began to close. "There's a hidden path through the woods! 'Walk the treetops'!" she called as the gate finally closed.

Running into the woods, we tried several paths until we found they were all blocked. Standing under a low hanging tree, we stopped to think of what to do next.

"Kimberly said there was a hidden path." Cassie mused.

" 'Walk the treetops'!" I exclaimed while looking up at the trees. The way they were close together and had many thick branches, they were perfect for going across. We climbed up into a nearby tree and made it through the forest without being detected, coming out at the steps to the temple.

Many priests were running back and forth, screaming about fiends, and we rushed our way into the temple, making it into the beginning of the cloister, and stopping when we found Tommy unconscious by a pedestal with a demonic looking fiend standing over him.

We fought the creature, called a Daeva, and managed to beat it fairly easily. Once we were done, we raced to Tommy's side as I briefly noted that the once orange flames all through the temple, had turned blue.

"Tommy?" Dustin asked as he used a hi-potion to heal the man's wounds.

His brown eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up as he winced. "I'll be ok." he reassured us.

"The fiends?" I asked, already having a good idea what the answer would be.

Standing up slowly, he nodded. "We're holding them off...somehow. They're coming from inside! One after another..." he shook his head and stared in confusion at the blue fire coming from the torches on the walls. "If they make it to town, they'll reach..." His eyes flew wide and he pounded his fist on the wall. "Kim!"

"They won't." I insisted firmly.

He turned to us and nodded slowly. "Thanks." he said quietly.

"Kimberly wants to see you." Dustin said softly. Then he scratched his cheek and looked a little sheepish. "Well, she didn't come right out and say it, but you can kinda tell."

"I want to see her too." he said softly. "Even if we believe different things, I'll never stop feeling the same about her. The time of the Summoners may have passed, but I'll always be Kim's Guardian. I'll protect her with my life!" he insisted.

"And you can say that with a straight face?" Cassie put in with a raised eyebrow.

"Kim." he whispered sadly.

Racing through the temple, and stopping only long enough to grab the Samurai dressphere on the ground, we once again made it to the Chamber of the Fayth and saw yet another Dark Aeon. Ifrit, his once bright orange fur and flames, now a dark, eery blue, and the angry roar that echoed forth from his throat told us he was just like the others.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "Again..." I muttered as I stared at my old friend, wondering what had happened to it.

"An Aeon?" Cassie turned to me.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"Tori..." Dustin began.

I nodded and grabbed my guns. "I know. I'm ready." I said as we raced forth and began battle.

Wanting to get this over with as fast as possible, I put my guns away and grabbed my morpher. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" I called as I morphed into the Blue Wind Ranger.

Blake seemed to get the idea and followed me a moment later. "Thunder Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" he called, morphing into the Navy Thunder Ranger.

"Ninja Sword, Gold Mode!" I called as I powered up my sword and began my onslaught.

Cassie ran forward with me, and Dustin was on my other side. We attacked in tandem as we dodged many of Ifrit's attacks. Unfortunately, I got hit and was knocked back into a wall, where I lay stunned as the others continued their attack.

Blake's head shot towards me, before he turned back to the monster and grabbed his thunderstaff. "Thunderstaff! Full power!" he called as he raced forward, slicing Ifrit across it's stomach.

Standing up slowly, I shook my head to clear my dizziness before racing forward and joining the battle again. Cassie was barely conscious a few feet away, having taking a massive swipe across her midsection, and Dustin was using a hi-potion to heal his wounds, before crawling over to her side to heal her up as well.

With a final combination of strikes, we backed off and demorphed as Ifrit collapsed to the ground and faded away, the blue flames about the chamber changing back into orange.

_Stop him._ was the only thing we heard as we stared at yet another hole in the ground.

"Another hole." Cassie muttered as she stared down it. "Hmmm..."

Going back to the temple, we used the now activated teleport sphere to head back to the Celsius, where a much needed discussion awaited us.

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There you go. Two more Dark Aeons. Next should be a rather...interesting chapter. A meeting is coming in the next chapter...and the quote below should help you to figure out who two of the three peole are. (Grins)

Hope you liked it.

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"Sure you should be here? The Youth League and New Yevon are crumbling without you guys to hold 'em together."

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So, R+R please and let me know what you think.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	30. A Secret Meeting

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : **JuseaPeterson** - This chapter should be what you waited for. A lot of explanation going on, but also more questions. At the very least, you'll find out why Cassie is the way she is and how she knows those three people. (Grins)

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(Celsius)

"Mmm...I don't get it!" Dustin cried as we stood on the bridge.

We'd been talking about the holes in the Chambers of the Fayth, and what they could mean.

"Fortunately, I know everything." Ethan said with a grin as he turned around in his seat.

Raising an eyeborw, Dustin grinned haughtily as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So...why are the fiends coming from the temples?"

"They aren't coming from the temples, but rather, from the Chambers of the Fayth."

_I_ could have told anyone that. It was common knowledge to all of us by now.

"Right. Exactly." Dustin agreed without blinking. "But why?"

Stuttering for a moment, Ethan looked down before shaking his head. "I'm only a kid." he said. That was his way of admitting he didn't know anything.

"The holes in the Chambers of the Fayth, were they there before?" Cassie asked from my side as I relaxed into Blake's embrace.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "No."

"So, the holes must be new, right?" Dustin put in with a frown.

"There was a hole in Bevelle too. A great hole." Cassie put in with a shudder.

"But that one was made by Vegnagun, wasn't it?" Dustin asked curiously as he looked around.

Yes, it was. But... "They're connected somehow." I put in as I looked at the ground.

"The holes...are connected?" Brother asked awkwardly from where he stood.

Thinking about it, I supposed they were. I believe there was so much we didn't know. The holes, the invasion of fiends, and the Dark Aeons...they were all somehow connected to Vegnagun. "Yes, but it's more than just that. Somehow, I think there are deeper connections." Like, what or...who was connecting them? And what did they have planned?

"Ooh...That is deep, Tori." Brother said with a nod as he seemed to think about what I'd said.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded throug the ship and Adam jumped into his seat. Typing on the panel in front of him, the alarm silenced and his face grew grim. "Distress call from Djose!" he said.

I frowned in worry at that, thinking about what Marah had said about watching her own back. Now we were getting a distress call. Did that mean something happened?

"Distress? Is it Marah?" Brother asked with a frown.

It was fairly obvious he didn't like her for some reason, bit no one knew why.

"Hmmm...It looks like they ran into some trouble trying to clear out the fiends." Adam mused out loud.

"Right." Brother said. Turning to us, he nodded seriously. "Gullwings, here is the order!" Shaking his head, he made a dismissing signal with his hand. "Forget it! Let Marah save herself!"

"What?" Dustin cried incredulously.

"Marah kadc ymm dra yldeuh! (Marah gets all the action!)" he whined.

Groaning, Dustin shook his head. "Kessa y pnayg! (Gimme a break!)" he whined back.

"Well, Tori?" Adam asked.

"We'll just have to charge her a little extra then." I said with a grin. "Gullwings, let's go!"

"Aww!" Dustin pouted. "Can't we give her a discount?"

Before going to Djose, we decided to make a quick stop at Bevelle to make sure everything was going ok. By word from Djose, they had it under control for the moment, so we thought we'd make it fast.

We had no idea what we were about to uncover.

(Bevelle)

Surprisingly, we had no trouble making it up the Highbridge. The guards were all running around in a panic, or trying to calm down other panicked guards. Everything really _was_ falling apart here without T.J.

As we made it to the main temple, I happened to look up and gasped as I saw a familiar figure standing on the roof. Long brown hair billowing in the wind, and a large machina gun on her back. As I watched, she looked around before turning and walking away with a raised eyebrow.

"Was that...Marah? What's she doing here?" Dustin asked in surprise and confusion.

Turning my head, I noticed the others had been looking in the same spot. "I don't know, but I plan to find out." I told all of them.

Heading into the temple, we took the lift down. Making our way through the Bevelle underground, we soon came to where Vegnagun used to be, but voices inside, caused us to hide behind the doorframe and look around.

I gasped silently as I saw the three figures standing on the large platform. Feeling myself, frown, I watched as Marah casually approached Carlos and T.J.

"Hey." she greeted with a familiar grin

T.J. turned and raised an eyebrow at her as she walked up to them. "You're late." he said calmly.

To this, Carlos chuckled and shook his head before limping forward a few steps. "If you were on time, Then I'd really start to worry." he said with a wry grin as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Frowning, I watched their interaction, not understanding what was going on. They were friends? But then, why be members of opposing teams? Why fight each other? Well, at least one thing was for sure. "So much for being missing." I said quietly as I looked at the others. Dustin and Blake looked as lost as I felt, but Cassie looked shocked.

Turning back to the conversation with a confused frown, I continued to listen.

"Sure you should be here?" Marah asked Carlos and T.J. as she looked back and forth between the two. "The Youth League and New Yevon are crumbling without you guys to hold 'em together."

"You expect too much." Carlos said seriously.

"Learn from us!" she shot back before turning to T.J. "Why are we here?"

Sighing, T.J. walked over to the edge of the platform. "There's something I needed to be sure of. Vegnagun us gone."

"Listen to yourself." Carlos scoffed. " 'Vegnagun is gone'. Are you trying to tell us that since that thing left on it's own, Yevon's not to blame?"

Turning back around, T.J. glared at him coolly. "It's the truth. The thing's more sensitive than it's size would leave one to believe. It detects hostility, and in an instant, springs to life! Should one even think of harming it, it awakens like a frightened child."

Nodding slowly, Carlos watched as T.J. joined the group once again. "You've done your homework." he said with a raised eyebrow and impressed gleam in his eyes.

"I've had two years." he respponded with a slightly more hostile glare.

"Wait a minute!" Marah exclaimed as she shook her head and raised her arms a little. "So you're saying that Vegnagun woke up because someone was trying to destroy it? Who?" she asked with confusion.

Looking at Carlos with a carefully neutral expression, T.J. raised an eyebrow. "Who indeed. I'm a little confused." he said, addressing his words to the Meyvn of the Youth League. "You came here to claim it for yourself, didn't you? But it awoke. Why? Because deep down you hated it. Did you come here to destroy it, or use it?"

Chuckling quietly, Carlos sneered at him. "Both." he said, his voice ringing strangely in the room. "You probably think that's impossible. You've always been too naive. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"Then I hope you don't expect me to trust you, either." T.J. said as he took a single step forward. "I believed in you once... When we were training for the Crimson Squad."

I felt my eyes widen at this, remembering the words spoken on one of the red spheres I held.

_Total survivors of the Crimson Squad..._

_Crimson Squad._

_There should be three more candidates and their recorder._

_There are four missing. Fix it._

Blinking in shock, I realized these guys must have been three of the four. Then I gasped silently as I turned to Cassie. The feeling that she knew these three, with just how well she seemed to know them, it all fit in too well. Was she part of their group at that time?

"I thought I'd never find a better friend. But you betrayed that... ...Two years ago." he finished as he pulled out a gun and aimed it at Carlos' head. Raising his gaze, he glared at the man before him with pure anger and betrayal in his face.

"T.J.!" Marah cried, rushing towards the group and staring in shock at the men before her.

"Why did you shoot?!" T.J. yelled angrily as his gun shook in Carlos' face. "Why did you shoot Marah and me?! We were friends and you shot us in the back!!"

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. Trying to speak, I found I was stunned into silence. This...was probably the farthest thing I'd ever imagined ever hearing. Turning to the other, I noted the same looks on Dustin and Blake's faces, but Cassie...

Her face was pale as a sheet and her eyes filled with tears. She was glaring at Carlos as her body shook, and then her eyes would soften when she looked at the others.

"Answer me!" T.J. screamed.

"Just calm down." Marah said firmly. Turning her head to Carlos, she glared at him. "Carlos! Apologize already!" she shouted. Seeing that neither guy was responding, she sighed and shook her head as she pulled her own gun, aiming it at T.J., who was currently the only one armed. "That's enough." she said in a deadly calm voice. "Don't push me..." she warned. "If this is what it takes."

Suddenly, Carlos' body began to glow and pyreflies emerged, floating around him as he dropped the cane at his side. Chuckling quietly, he turned an emotionless mask on the others. "This has turned out perfectly, don't you agree? Yes, I shot you." He pulled out a gun of his own and pointed it at Marah's head, and though a hint of fear flashed through her eyes, she remained otherwise montionless. "You made easy targets" he said, his voice overlapped by another male voice. "You and...Cassie."

"You shot Cassie too?!" Marah yelled incredulously.

Leaning against the doorframe, I turned to find Cassie holding her side with a pained look on her face. Her outfit covered that area, but if it hadn't I had no doubt I would've seen a scar. So...this explained a lot. Cassie was in the Crimson Squad with them, two years ago, only to be shot in the back by Carlos. But...Turning back to the scene in front of us, I knew something was missing.

That obviously wasn't Carlos in front of us. His body but not his mind. And if it wasn't Carlos, then...who?

"Why?" T.J demanded. When all Carlos did was laugh, he glared even harder. "Answer me!"

"I made him do it. He was too weak to resist me." he said.

Turning to him in confusion and worry, Marah's eyes narrowed. "Carlos?"

He turned his head to look at T.J. and sneered. "I don't expect you to present any more of a challenge. Not now." he said with an evil grin.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure, made up of pyreflies, floated out of Carlos' body and into T.J's as Carlos fell to his knees and the Praeter gasped in pain and shock, staggering back. A moment later, and the pyreflies floated about his body and he sneered, his eyes turning cold as ice and he began to speak in the eery double voice Carlos had just been using.

"You see, I found that the mind that hates and despises is easiest to control, to break. Two years ago, it was the same with you, Carlos. Seeking your own death." Raising his gun once again, he aimed it at Carlos' head. "Now, you can have it."

"Wait!" Marah screamed, having dropped her gun when the transfer had happened.

Cassie rushed forward with us right behind her. "Stop!" she cried.

Carlos' head shot up and he turned to look at us as we ran in, a look of worry plastered on his face as his eyes connected with Cassie. "Cassie, get out of here!" he yelled urgently.

A strange glyph below T.J. began to glow and a roar was heard behind us. Spinning around, we saw a large Malboro come rushing down the wall and towards us, blocking our exit. Momentarily forgetting the trio behind us, we armed ourselves and rushed forward to fight the fiend.

Blake cast a fira spell on it, knocking it back a foot, before one of it's tentacles shot outand hit him in the arm, drawing blood. He cried out in pain and jumped back, immediately falling to his knees as his skin turned a sickly pale.

As Dustin rushed forward to heal him, Cassie rushed at the Malboro with a charged Flameblade, and attacked visciously. As soon as her attack was done, she charged up another and attacked again in a fury.

I followed suit, turning into a Black Mage and using a level two fira spell.

Once Blake was healed, he charged up another fira as Dustin stole a few remedies from the said fiend. Once the Al Bhed was out of the way, Blake and I both attacked with fira spells, and the Malboro collapsed, fading away into a large cloud of pyreflies and leaving behind a red sphere.

Blinking a moment, I rushed forward and picked it up, placing it in my pouch as I turned around to address the trio behind us.

Only to find they were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Dustin asked in confusion.

Cassie sighed and pointed briefly to the hole. "I saw T.J. escape. Carlos and Marah probably chased after him."

"So, you knew all three of them." I mused out loud.

She nodded slowly. "Long ago." she said softly.

"Yeah but Carlos, he..." Dustin looked worried.

"Yes, he shot us." she admitted softly. Her eyes took on a faraway look and she shook her head before focusing on us again. "It was an accident. At least, that's how I see it."

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked softly.

She grinned a little and shrugged. "You never asked."

"We're asking now." Blake put in hesitantly.

She didn't answer for a while and Dustin sighed. "You don't wanna tell us." she stated knowingly.

She nodded and offered a forced smirk. "Bingo." Watching as Dustin pulled at his hair a bit in frustration, she turned to me. "You wanna know." she almost asked.

"Yeah, but..." Shaking my head, I turned my back to them before twisting at the waist and looking over my shoulder. "Forcing you to tell isn't any better. We'll wait until you're ready." I said softly.

She gave a small, real smile, and nodded. "No pressure, huh?"

With a final look back at the hole where Vegnagun once sat, we hesitantly left Bevelle and headed for the airship. As much as we didn't want to leave this undone, we still had to go to Djose and help them there.

I only hoped Marah and Carlos knew what they were doing.

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Heh, So...Carlos, T.J., Marah and Cassie. Well, now that should explain a few things.

But still...what was that thing that came out of Carlos and what does it want?

Hope you like this.

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"Is that...really you?"

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Hmmm...interesting. Next chapter you should find out just who that man in the sphere is. But here's a couple little hints..

1). I've been trying to pair a lot of the Rangers up. Tori/Blake, Marah/Dustin, Kimberly/Tommy, Andros/Ashley, Hunter/Kelly, Shane/Skyla...

2). He mentioned saving a woman named Karone who seems to be really important to him for some reason.

3). His appearance, which I mentioned before.

4). The name of the man Tori is looking for.

Now if that doesn't give it away, you'll have to wait. (Grins)

So, please R+R. Your comments are always appreciated.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	31. Meeting the Mystery Man

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : This fic should finally explain who the mysterious man in the sphere is.

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(Djose)

Teleporting down, we noticed the Al Bhed standing outside with their guns aimed at the entrance to the temple and ran over to them.

"Frana ec Marah frah fa haat ran? (Where is Marah when we need her?)" one Al Bhed asked with irritation.

Turning to us, Dustin sighed. "He says Marah isn't back yet." he explained.

I nodded and frowned. "Wonder if she's still with Carlos and T.J." I mused out loud.

"Probably." Cassie answered with a shrug, back to her normal self, except a little more open to us.

"Fa dneat vekrdehk dra veahtc uh uin ufh, pid fa uhmo syta drehkc funca. Dra veahtc vuiht y fyo du sanka fedr uin machina. (We tried fighting the fiends on our own, but we only made things worse. The fiends found a way to merge with our machina.)" another Al Bhed said to us with a sheepish and worried look.

"Translation..." Dustin frowned and turned his head to us. "Not good!"

"Then that's our cue." I said with a determined nod.

Running into the temple, we raced through the cloister, we made it to the chamber right in front of the Chamber of the Fayth with little to no problem. As we ran inside, I paused in shock. As I'd expected, there was a Dark Aeon standing in the center of the room. Ixion. And as I heard the Al Bhed say, it was fused with machina, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

What stood before us was an Aeon that looked like a sick version of a cyborg. Metal shrapnel covered places of the dark torso and crackled with electricity as the unicorn reared back to land on all four hooves and glare at us with angry red eyes.

"An Aeon?" Dustin asked in confusion, having a hard time taking in the machina all over it.

Cassie nodded and grabbed her sword. "Fused with Al Bhed machina. Isn't that what they said?"

"How can this be?" I questioned quietly as we raced forward.

Aiming for it's face and eyes, I unleashed a powered up Trigger Happy that would do more damage. I saw it charging a lightning attack and managed to jump to the side just in time to avoid it. Then, standing back up, I attacked again. If Ixion hadn't been a lightning elemental, I would've used a water attack to weaken it, but as it was, it would've served as a healing agent.

Feeling my eyes widen, I quickly changed into Black Mage and cast watera on it, remembering what Hunter had once said about opposing elements.

Dustin too seemed to get the idea and changed into Black Mage, following my lead. Charging up a watera spell, he grinned. "Drink up." he said in a cocky tone as he cast the watera.

Cassie charged forward with her sword and sliced at Ixion's side, managing to cut it deeply and take out a piece of machina.

Blake charged up a wateraga spell, smiling gratefully that he still knew how, and cast the spell at the lightning Aeon. As the powerful water spell hit the Aeon, many pieces of machina fell off and blew apart, leaving infected looking wounds in their place. But in the blink of an eye, those wounds had mostly healed.

Now the Aeon was staggering a bit as it paced, and we knew we had the upper hand. We kept up our water attacks, and it soon fell. Turning, we headed into the Chamber of the Fayth, failing to notice that Ixion hadn't faded away like the others.

Another hole met us. A deep dark, pyrefly infested hole, leading down into the belly of Spira.

"Another hole. I wonder what's down there." Dustin mused from the edge.

I stood back a foot and peered down into the darkness, wondering the same thing.

Shaking her head, Cassie smirked ay Dustin. "Go find out." She quipped.

"Uh-uh! No way!" he cried as he shook his head, taking a step back from the edge.

_The hole we found was so deep… It was as though all the secrets in the world might be hidden in it's depths. But… Something told me to stay away. These secrets are not for me to know._

Cassie heard a noise and spun around to see Ixion in the doorway, glowing fiercely with a triumphant gleam in it's eyes. "Watch out!" she cried.

"Huh? Dustin spun around at the same time as me. "What?"

Ixion suddenly exploded, and Dustin, Blake, Cassie and I jumped away to avoid the blast.

Unfortunately, whereas Dustin and Blake jumped to one side, and Cassie jumped to the other… I instinctively jumped back. They landed safely on the ground, barely managing to avoid the attack, but I was thrown over the edge.

Over the edge of the hole and into the vast darkness below.

As I fell, I heard their terrified voices calling my name.

"Tori!" That was Dustin and Cassie.

"Tor, no!" That was Blake.

Then, I knew nothing more.

(Unknown place)

When I finally came to, I found myself floating in a brightly lit space upside down. I struggled to open my eyes, only to cry out in surprise and close them again. "It's so bright!" I said as I felt myself falling.

"Can you hear me?" an unknown but somehow familiar voice asked softly.

Frowning a little, I nodded. "Yeah." I got control of my body and flipped myself so that I was right side up as I fell.

"Ah, you can hear me." The voice stated with a happy sounding tone.

Finally managing to open my eyes, I looked around, only to be met my endless light and seemingly empty space. "I can't see you." I said as I looked around again. "Where are you?"

The voice chuckled a bit. "Right here!"

The light suddenly grew blinding and I closed my eyes tightly, blacking out again.

(Unknown place Part 2)

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself face down on the ground. Blinking for a moment, I looked around and noticed a bunch of purple and blue flowers all around me and the sound of waterfalls nearby.

Frowning, I pushed myself up so I was leaning on my arms and moved to a sitting position, as I took in the dark, yet beautiful place around me. Seeing a flash of blue, I looked down and gasped a bit to see myself garbed in my Songstress dressphere.

As I slowly stood, I watched as my dress began to glow and pyreflies floated out of it, fluttering around my body gently. "What's happening?" I asked myself softly. Then, I heard the sound of footsteps and looked up, into a thick mist in front of me.

A figure came into view. I felt as if something had taken over my body and tears came to my eyes as it became clearer, obviously approaching me.

Short blonde hair and light blue eyes met me. A gentle smile on his face as he walked forward.

_Zach?_ Unbidden, Spiran Tori's thoughts came into my head and I took a step forward.

It hit me then that I didn't have any control over my body.

"I finally found you." He said as a happy and relieved look came over his face.

Feeling even more tears build up in my eyes, I blinked furiously. Or rather, whoever was in control of my body blinked. "Is it really you?" I heard myself ask hopefully.

He nodded slowly and began forward once again. "It is me, Zhane. I've waited so long, Karone."

Shaking my head, I suddenly felt that I had control over my body again and spun around so that my back was to him. "But…I'm not Karone." I felt Spiran Tori's sadness and confusion, and an unexplainable sad longing run through me.

"Karone. We disappeared together, but, when I awoke, I was alone."

I suddenly had flashbacks of when I and Zach were shot together in my dream, only in our place was a woman with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes, and a young man with short blonde hair and blue eyes. Frowning, I wondered if that was them. Karone and Zhane.

"I looked for you for so long." He said with such sadness and longing. "While I wandered, I realized something. Spira hasn't really changed." He growled and narrowed his eyes as he walked up behind me. "A thousand years have passed, and they can't put their hatred behind them!" he hissed angrily. "I'm through waiting. I'll fix it."

I shuddered in fear of the malicious intent I heard in his voice.

"This world continues to fail us, and what's worse, I failed to protect you."

A single tear fell from my eyes as I heard the guilt and pain in his voice. He'd suffered so much. _They've_ suffered too much.

"Vegnagun will make that all go away. And we'll fade again, together. Help me do it, Karone." He pleaded as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

I found myself suddenly unable to move or speak as overwhelming sadness and despair coursed through my body.

_Don't touch me._

I felt myself gasp involuntarily as he spun me around and hugged me tightly. Helplessness rose up though my heart and an overpowering love that I knew wasn't mine or Spiran Tori's.

_Who's feelings are these? Karone's? Mine?_

Feeling tears fall, my eyes closed against their will, but before they did, I saw my outfit begin to glow brightly as lights swirled around us.

"Wake up!"

The sudden call startled me and I pulled sharply away as Zhane faded back into the clearly possessed form of T.J. Frowning, I realized it was him who wanted so badly to get to Vegnagun, but I couldn't say or do anything. My legs gave out underneath me and I fell to the ground in despair as my outfit changed back to Gunner on it's own.

Behind us a little ways were a haggard looking duo. Marah and Carlos, looking a little worse for the wear.

T.J. moved to the edge of the field of flowers and raised his hand as a portal appeared. Turning back to us, he sneered. "The end is not far now." He said before stepping through the swirling portal.

As Carlos and Marah walked over, they each held a glowing red sphere. Bending down, Carlos sighed and handed me his sphere. "Give this to Cassie." He instructed me as he stood up straight again. "It was all I was able to find."

Shrugging, Marah followed his lead and handed me her sphere. "Give her this one too."

Looking at the red spheres, I frowned. "What's this?" I asked curiously.

"Our wills." Carlos said with a totally straight face.

"He's kidding." Marah said with a giggle as she saw my wide eyed look. "Just make sure Cassie gets 'em, all right?"

Frowning, I nodded and put the spheres in my pouch. "How do you know her?"

"The four of us go way back." Marah said with a shrug and smile.

They walked to the edge of the field, to the portal and I jumped up from my sitting position. "Don't go!" I cried.

"It's under control." Marah said with a grin.

"Take care of things topside!" Carlos said with a nod as they both stepped through the portal and vanished.

Closing my eyes, I felt a strange energy in the air and when I opened them again, I was in a dark void. Frowning, I wandered around, looking for a way out.

_I didn't know what had happened. Everywhere I looked, I found only questions. But more than anything…_

"I'm just….mad! One thing after another and I'm already confused to begin with!" looking around, I groaned. "Hey! Where am I?" I called. Crouching into a ball, I felt my body shaking as fear began to surface, but with a shake of my head, I jumped up. Taking a deep breath, I screamed as loud and long as I could before stopping and looking around, hoping to hear an answer.

Nothing.

Collapsing to my knees, my body was wracked with sobs as I realized… "I'm all alone."

Suddenly, I heard an all too familiar whistle and was reminded of Blake. Jumping up, I looked around wildly, hoping to find some sign that I wasn't alone after all. Hearing, a second whistle, I gasped at how close it sounded, and took a few steps forward. "Where are you?" I called.

I got no verbal answer, but a moment later, and a third whistle sounded, and suddenly, there was a glowing figure in the darkness in front of me. I couldn't make much out about him, but it looked like Zach. Seeing him walking away, I ran forward through the darkness, trying to get to him. "Wait!" I called.

I didn't even notice when a glowing path formed under and ahead of me, and I ran up it.

There was a bright flash and I closed my eyes against the harsh glare. When I opened them again, I found myself back in the Bevelle underground at the hole where Vegnagun once stood.

There was static from my com and I looked down at it, startled. "Come in Tori. Tori!" Adam's worried voice called through.

Smiling a little in relief, I looked out over the hole as I raised my com to my mouth. "Tori reporting in." I answered automatically.

"TORI!" came the chorus of worried voices.

**END of Chapter 3**

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Hmmm…Chapter 31 up, and the end of Chapter 3 of the Game script. 2 more chapters to go. You finally know who the mystery man in the sphere is. To be honest, I'm going to guess that most of you figured it out when he mentioned Karone. LOL.

I'm working on a different computer at the moment, so sorry if anything's weird.

Hope you like it.

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"We used to laugh together like this…once. The four of us. I've been chasing my past for so long… Sometimes, getting it back is all I can think about."

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R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi.


	32. Welcome Back and CommSphere Network

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok, so I realize I probably confused people with the scene between Marah, Carlos and T.J. and the scene with Zhane. To put it simply, Zhane is a VERY angry spirit and possessed Carlos. Under Bevelle, he switched bodies and now resides in T.J. So it wasn't Carlos who shot the others, but Zhane in Carlos' body, and it's not T.J. looking to destroy Spira, but Zhane.

If you don't understand why...I don't mean for this to sound mean, but...you didn't pay enough attention to the story so far. Think of the spheres where he talks about saving Karone. Then the dream Tori had about being shot. And finally, Zhane's own confession of 'I failed to save you'.

There should be more explanations coming, but as I wrote this, I realized it was pretty clear why Zhane was doing this, but only if you payed REALLY close attention to things.

Sorry if it sounded mean. I mean, it also might just be that I understand it because I've played the game and beat it several times, so I know exactly what I'm trying to describe.

On a different note... Over this past week, I checked out the script and it seems it DOES go into the Den Of Woe and Ten Gatekeepers missions so I should be able to do them. I also have been going slower on updates because I have been busy at the farm and helping my grandfather, so I've had less time to write.

And for those of you wondering just how damn long this fic is... LOL... I just finished Chapter 3 of the game script and have 2 more to go.

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(Celsius)

As I exited the elevator, I was immediately engulfed into a tight, warm embrace and I gasped in surprise. Blinking for a moment, I took in the navy blue shirt and realized it was Blake. Once that sunk in, I relaxed and returned the embrace just as tightly, taking comfort that I was back.

"I…I was so scared." He muttered shakily as he kissed the top of my head. "I thought…I thought I'd lost you."

Biting my lip hard, I shook my head slowly and buried my face in his neck. "Never." I said quietly. "I…"

"It's ok." Pulling away a bit, he kissed me lightly and smiled at me, though I could see the tears threatening to fall. As he took my hand, he pulled me onto the bridge, where the others were waiting with relieved smiles to see my face.

"Fryd y nameav! E druikrd fa ryt mucd oui! (What a relief! I though we had lost you!)" Brother sighed in relief as he let his shoulders sag.

Adam chuckled and shook his head as he rolled his eyes. Raising an eyebrow at me, he made a face. "He's been blubbering on about how he couldn't go on living if something were to happen to you." He said with a hint of irritation.

"And driving us nuts." Blake muttered under his breath as he looked away.

Slapping him lightly on the chest, I gave him a mock offended look before grinning and turning back to the others.

"We hadn't heard anything in so long! We tried tossing a commsphere into the hole, but it didn't help us one bit."

Ethan spun around in his seat and gave Dustin a mild glare for that. "Hey, it's still in beta!"

Raising an eyebrow, I wondered what that was supposed to mean, but decided not to question it out loud.

"So, what happened?" Cassie asked with a worried look.

Taking a deep breath, I began to explain what happened. I went from the voice in the weird void, to what I now realized was the Farplane, and ended with seeing the black void and being lead out of the emptiness by a shadowy figure. I even took pains to make sure and mention seeing this 'Zhane' guy and Marah and Carlos.

"Karone, huh?" Adam mused out loud.

Ethan nodded thoughtfully, with his back to us. "Yeah." He said matter of factly. "The girl from the Songstress Dressphere."

Gasping a little, I turned sharply to the Al Bhed whiz kid. "That's Karone?"

"Sure. She's the one who wore that dressphere one thousand years ago." He said with a small shrug, acting like he was talking about the weather.

Folding his arms over his chest, Dustin raised an eyebrow and stared coolly at Ethan. "And…uhh…_why_ didn't you tell us?"

Shrugging again, Ethan didn't even bother to turn around. "No one asked. Besides, all I knew was her name. What's to tell?"

_What Ethan said surprised me, but only a little. So there really _was_ a connection._

"Okay, okay." Dustin nodded as he paced a bit. "So the reason Zhane was calling Tori 'Karone', is…."

"Because of the dressphere?" Blake mused.

Shaking his head, Ethan sighed. " I can't really say for sure."

"This is so whacked." Blake muttered quietly.

"Forget Karone!" Brother cried hysterically, pacing the bridge in worry. "Zhane is the one who is wanting to vaporize Spira!"

Adam nodded slowly, an uncertain look crossing his face. "Yeah, but…" Sighing, he shook his head. "What can we do? Carlos and Marah are already planning something. Let them deal with it for now."

Sneaking out of the bridge, I needed to go talk to Cassie, who had snuck away a moment before. As I made my way to the elevator, Dustin's voice stopped me and I turned to see him walking up.

"Tori, Tori!" Smiling as he reached my side, he tilted his head a little. "You met Zhane, right? Was he anything like you-know-who?" he asked with a little grin.

Shaking my head, I realized he didn't. "Not really. Just his face."

Leaving the hallway, I took the elevator to the upper deck and walked over to where Cassie stood, with the two spheres in my hands. "They gave me these." I said as I showed them to her. Handing them over, I watched as she looked at them a moment before putting them in her pouch.

"They say anything?" she asked warily.

I shook my head and gave her a small smile. "No." I said simply.

Nodding a little, she turned to face back out to the sky. "I see."

With a final nod, I turned to walk back to the elevator when her voice stopped me.

"They're old friends."

Turning around to face her, I noticed her far away look and slight smile. It was like she'd forgotten I was even there, if it wasn't for the fact that she was talking to me.

"The three of them were candidates for the Crimson Squad, and I was the recorder assigned to their team." Closing her eyes for a moment, she winced a little. "Yevon created the squad and started training members two years ago." Opening her eyes, she turned her head to me and offered a weak smile. "It was supposed to be an elite fighting force. The best were to be assigned leadership of Crusader chapters throughout Spira."

Frowning, I got the hint that there was more going on. Probably, the reason why she was betrayed by Carlos. "But…?"

"The squad was destroyed before that happened."

I shook my head a little as I recalled the sphere. The images of all the dead soldiers in the cave. Destroyed….didn't seem like the right word. To me, it seemed a lot more like a massacre than anything else.

"Most of the candidates died. An Accident."

My eyes looked out over the sky as I doubted her words. It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that than the truth, but who was I to judge. Still….there was something very wrong about the whole situation.

"The four of us were separated then. Things happened." She frowned and shook her head as a look of totally confusion crossed her face. "I was there. I saw everything, but still… I don't know why it happened that way. Even now. So…I went looking for some answers.

"You became a sphere hunter." It actually made a lot of sense, and sounded very familiar. It seemed a lot like my reason for joining. I saw a sphere of Zach and joined, hoping to either find him or answers to what happened to him.

Smirking softly, she turned to me and raised a hand. "I always _did_ want to fly on this thing." She admitted with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly, Dustin exited the elevator and came up to us with a confused look on his face, and a concerned Blake behind him. What'cha talking about?" the Al Bhed asked with a small smile. Giving a mock pout, he sighed dramatically. "Or is it another one of those secrets? That's all right. I didn't wanna know anyway." he said with mock indifference as he rolled his eyes away.

Walking over to him, Cassie pointed in his face and smirked as she raised an eyebrow. "That's too bad. And I was just going to tell you."

"Really?" he cried, perking right up and looking hopeful.

Shrugging, she grinned at him. "Too late now."

Stomping his foot, he crossed his arms over his face and pouted at her. "Oui pimmo! (You bully!)" he cried.

We all busted up laughing at that and a moment later, Cassie sighed with a fond smile on her face. "We used to laugh like this. The four of us. I've been chasing my past so long...sometimes, getting it back is all I can think about. Other times, I just want to forget." Turning to me, she raised an eyebrow. "What about you? Zhane wasn't who you thought he was, was he?"

Shaking my head, I sighed. "No." I answered honestly.

"Maybe we should both let go of the past and focus on the future."

"You're not leaving the Gullwings?" Dustin cried in protest as he ran over to Cassie.

Walking to the elevator, she turned her head as he ran up and shrugged. "Always a possibility." she said.

They left the deck, going back to the bridge and leaving Blake and I alone. Turning toward the sky, I sighed and thought about what she said. It made a certain kind of sense, but it wasn't my journey, or even really my body. I couldn't just up and stop, even if I wanted to. Still...

_So many things seem intertwined, but nothing leads to you. Why be a sphere hunter when what I'm hunting for can never be found?_

"Tori?"

Turning my head, I offered a small smile to Blake before taking his hand and heading down to the bridge. I wasn't quite ready to give up the search just yet.

As we entered the bridge, we managed to catch the tail end of Dustin and Cassie's conversation as we approached.

"You're not leaving the Gullwings, are you?" Dustin persisted as he stared in worry at Cassie.

Smiling slightly, she shook her head. "I may not look it, but I'm having a good time." she admitted with a grin.

He grinned back and nodded. "Right!" Seeing her roll her eyes and turn away, his grin quickly faded. "Right?" he asked urgently.

Adam sighd and turned his head to see the others. "What about Tori? Think she'll quit?" he asked carefully.

"Uv luinca hud! (Of course not!)" Brother cried, appalled at the suggestion.

Cassie turned and glared at him angrily. "Yht fru ycgat oui, yenrayt? (And who asked you, airhead?)" she shot back in perfect Al Bhed, startling everyone on the ship.

Spinning his head in his seat, he seemed to catch sight of me, and gave me a pleading stare. "Tori!"

Ethan turned in his seat with a worried look on his face and sighed as he shook his head. "I hate to interrupt, but Spira's falling apart without it's leaders. Check the commspheres and see."

Since I'd been back, I made a little side trip to speak to Ethan and it turned out, while I'd been travelling, fighting the Aeons and such, Ethan had been rushing all over Spira with me, installing commspheres to allow us to speak to each place without actually having to _be_ there.

Thinking for a moment, images of Shane and Hunter crossed my mind and I worried about them. There had been no more word of fiends coming from the temples, but still...to be sure, I chose to check that commsphere first.

Once the connection was established, we were shown an image of Besaid from beside Hunter and Shane's huts. Everything _looked_ peaceful, but I still worried. Until Shane came out of his hut and approached the commsphere, seeing that it was on. Smiling, he waved a bit and knelt down.

"Hey Tori. How ya been, huh?" he asked cheerfully.

_To hell and back._ I thought darkly as I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Well, not too bad." I answered truthfully. "How are things in Besaid, Shane?"

"It's ok." he replied with a shrug. "It's been pretty quiet, ya? Been no more fiends coming from the temple."

"Really?" I asked hopefully, perking up at the thought that everything was going well.

He nodded slowly and looked around the town. "That's what Sky says, and he Patrols the place every day."

Pursing my lips a bit, I bowed my head. As cold as Sky could be, at the very least he was honest. "He's a dedicated man." I said out loud. For all his threats, he really wasn't as bad as he seemed.

Shane sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but he's gonna be leaving the island pretty soon. Youth League's having some trouble or something, so they called him back to headquarters. On top of that, word around here is that New Yevon's praetor has gone missing. Not too sure what it all means, but things don't look good, ya?"

"Yeah, it's a bit crazy all over." Saying that, I wanted to roll my eyes at my wording. 'A bit crazy' was probably the biggest understatement of the century. Secrets and lies reining supreme... A vengeful spirit looking to destroy Spira and inhabiting the body of a powerful leader... Yeah, things were pretty nuts at the moment.

"Listen." Sighing, he gave me a tired half smirk. "I dunno about the rest of Spira, but Besaid's in good shape. It's either that or I'll have Hunt and Skyla on my ass, ya know?"

Giggling a bit, I nodded. "Thanks Shane." That was a major relief. It was one less place I had to worry about at the moment.

Saying our farewells, we tuned into the Kilika commsphere next, and as it connected, it showed the sphere being carried across the bridges to show Youth League soldiers still stationed throughout the town, and people not as happy and free as they used to be.

As we watched the sphere soon entered Kimberly's hut where she placed it on her bed and crouched down in front of it with a weary smile. "Well, that's Kilika Port for you. From the moment Carlos disappeared, everyone's been running around in circles. Just look at them." Looking to her doorway, she grimaced in distaste. "No one knows what to do without someone barking orers at them. They've already started looking for a new leader."

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the sphere and sighed. "In fact, they even asked me. Figured a former Summoner would make a perfect leader for the town."

Frowning a little, I nodded. "Why don't you?" Honestly, somehow, the position seemed perfect for her.

She smirked and shook her head again. "Too busy looking after myself, dear. Of course, I'll do what I can to keep things from getting too far out of hand, but... Until Carlos gets back, things are not going to be the same."

Without even waiting for a response, she turned off the commsphere and disabled our connection, obviously wanting to be left alone. Ignoring Ethan's outraged cries about her meddling with his commspheres, we next chose to view Mushroom Rock's sphere to see how things were going at the Youth League headquarters.

As soon as the sphere connected, we were greeted with a view of Bridge running by. Seeing the commsphere activated, he stopped and raced over with a worried expression. "Lady Tori!" he cried happily upon seeing us. A look of major relief crossed his face, and I worried about what was going on.

"More fiends?" I asked fearfully.

Shaking his head, he crouched down and sighed. "Actually, we've received unconfirmed reports of trouble brewing in Bevelle. It seems a unit of New Yevon's troups have been gearing up for a raid."

I gasped at this news. Great! That was all we needed! More battles!

"With Carlos gone, they're hoping to strike quickly and catch us off guard. But don't worry about us! We won't be so easily trapped! We're planning to launch a preemptive strike before they can attack."

Now I frowned in worry. What if these 'unconfirmed reports' were just rouses? If they attacked first, and Yevon wasn't planning anything, it would cause them to counterattack for sure, and an all out war would start!

"As soon as our preparations are complete, we move out!"

"But..." Shaking my head, I felt my frown deepen. "You're not even sure they're planning an attack, are you?" I pointed out.

Grinning a little, he shook his head. "In war, victory favors the bold! I must be off! Farewell!" he cried as he stood, turned and raced back to the headquarters.

Sighing heavily, I shook my head again and decided to check Bevelle next, hoping to find out if those rumors were just that...rumors.

The image was a little foggy, but it clearly showed Jason as he came running up, only to turn and sit with his back to the sphere.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously, wondering why a Youth League official was running around in New Yevon's home base.

Turning his head, he flashed us a cocky grin. "Well, for one, I'm running reconnaissance on New Yevon. The Praetor's gone, fiends are on the lose, New Yevon is upside down. Fortunately, security is lax, so even Youth League members like me can walk around in the open."

"You there!" came a guard's voice as he spotted Jason. "What're you doing?"

Laughing a little, he stood up and turned to the sphere. "Took them long enough. So long!" he cried as he ran over the commsphere, stepping on it and disabling it, much to Ethan's displeasure.

Having enough of the commpsheres for the moment, we turned to speak to the others and possibly think on what to do next.

Adam stood by his seat with his arms folded across his chest and a slightly worried look on his face. "Looks like Carlos and T.J. still haven't come back, and now Marah's vanished too. Spiral's three leading bigshots have gone AWOL. If I was one of their followers, I'd be pretty worried and scared." he mused out loud.

"Tension between the two groups is turning volatile. It won't be long before things begin to get ugly." Ethan pointed out.

Frowning a little, I sighed. _Things have _already_ turned ugly._ I thought pointedly.

"And Vegnagun's on the lose." Cassie pointed out one of our biggest problems yet. "You can bet Zhane's controlling that thing."

"I wonder..." Dustin began to pace a little as he thought out loud. "If Carlos and Marah are planning to destroy it..."

"Maybe." Cassie said with a shrug.

Stopping his pacing, Dustin grabbed the sides of his head and shook it wildly as he stomped his foot. "Oooh! Nothing makes sense anymore!" he cried in frustration. "I mean, just what the hell are we supposed to do?!"

"I talked to Carlos on the Farplane." I began a little quietly as I took a step forward. "He told me to 'take care of things topside'." Frowning, I shook my head and glared at the floor. "As if it was the easiest thing to do, really!" Sighing, I felt my anger deflate and looked at the others, thinking back to when I first joined the Gullwings in order to try and find Zach. "And things were going so well, too." I muttered.

_At least, that's what I thought._

Growing determined, I nodded to myself and looked into the eyes of the others. "I changed my mind! I want to do something! Carlos asked me to help and that's what I'll do!" I stated firmly.

Brother leapt from his chair and posed dramatically with a grin. "Oac, drec ec dra Tori dryd E ghuf! (Yes, this is the Tori I know!)" he exclaimed in Al Bhed. "Alrighty! Let's smash that action figure! We'll risk our lives to protect Spira from Vegnagun!" he cried excitedly.

"No." I disagreed, wanting to do something_ other_ than fighting for once. "I think...there has to be something we can do besides fighting."

"Like what?" Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Thinking about it, I felt my eyebrows furrow in concentration. "With it's leaders gone, Spira is falling apart. Maybe we can do something to bring them back together." I thought out loud.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Dustin cheered as he bounced around excitedly. "Great idea, Tori! So like, what are we gonna do, huh?"

There was a short pause as everyone tried to think of something. After a moment Cassie looked at us all with a shrug and made a half hearted attempt at an idea.

"Sing campfire songs?"

Brother's eyes went wide and I wanted to bang my head on the wall, knowing exactly what he was about to say. Turning a mild glare on Cassie, who looked totally lost, I wondered if I could run far and fast enough to avoid this.

"Oh! That is it! All of Spira will be captive of Tori's singing and dancing!"

Dustin's eyes followed suit and he nodded happily. "Great idea!" he cried, once again agreeing with his brother and making me dread this even more.

"I can handle the techie stuff." Ethan said from his seat, and my head spun in his direction as my own eyes went wide. "W-Wait!" I cried in protest.

They ignored me and continued to talk, and I felt an arm wrap around my waist, turning to see Blake looking at me warmly. "It's the only idea anyone has." he pointed out quietly, and I sighed, knowing he was right.

"I know! I know!" Dustin cried as he hopped around. "I bet Tobli could help!"

"And where is he?" Adam asked as he got into his seat.

"The Moonflow." Cassie piped up with an amused glint in her eyes.

"Gullwings..." Adam began with a grin.

Brother hopped into his seat and laughed. "Move out!" he cried as he piloted the ship towards the Moonflow.

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Ok, that's NOT the end of the chapter, but if I kept it as one, it would've been WAY too long. Next chapter, there's still some more to go on the Celsius before they do anything else.

Hope you like it.

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"Spectacularly spectacular! 'Twill be a yummy Yunapalooza indeed! 'Twill go down in history! I most definitely, definitely want to arrange it! Can I, can I?"

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Please R+R.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi


	33. Tobli Hunt and Concert Preparations

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok...I don't know if anyone knows but... A Shoopuf is kind of like a cross between a brontosaurus and an elephant. It had the same sort of tail and skin of a brontosaurus, and the rest is like an elephant, without the tusks. And the trunk is curled.

Sorry for the lack of updating, but I've been uber busy lately and distracted.

I'm glad to see you liked my little interlude. I'm very happy about that. I hope to have more chapters you will enjoy and I'm planning on one more interlude to explain the evil force and what's happening on earth.

Also, this thought just hit me, but Andros and Karone aren't related in this fic and he doesn't even know who she is. It only _just_ hit me, so...

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Seeing as how it was going to take some time, I decided to go check the commspheres again, seeing if anything else was going on that I should know about. First, we decided to check out the Mi'ihen Highroad.

As soon as the commsphere connected, they noticed Andros exiting the travel agency with a troubled look. Brushing some of his shoulder length hair out of his face, he turned to the sphere and blinked in surprise before walking over. "Hm?" he inquired lazily as he looked down at the sphere.

Frowning a little, I bowed my head in greeting. "Is something wrong?" I asked in concern, already getting a jist that something was up.

Sighing a little, he crouched down and nodded slowly. "Lately, a number of strange events have been happening here on the Highroad." he began to explain with that troubled look returning. "Our hover was destroyed. Also, the drone machina malfunctioned. I've launched an investigation, but so far, no clues have come into light." Offering a small smirk, he shook his head slowly. "But there is no need to worry. I will figure out what has happened."

Nodding a little, I still wasn't convinced. "Well alright. But if you need any help, please don't hesitate to give us a call." I answered sincerely.

Letting his smirk turn into a smile, he nodded gratefully. "That I will, Lady Tori. Please take care."

Once the commsphere was disconnected, I turned and headed for Adam's seat, hoping we were near our destination. Tapping him lightly on the shoulder, he turned his head and offered a small smile. "Next stop, the Moonflow!" he said cheerily as amusement shone in his eyes. "No time for side trips, kids. You sure you're ready for a little Tobli hunt?"

"Hell yeah!" I answered with a grin as I turned to see the excited faces of my friends. Well, except for Cassie, but she's almost never excited.

(Moonflow)

We raced down to the teleporter where Adam beamed us down to a sphere. Looking around, I blinked in surprise when I recognized the area as being near Djose, and frowned a little. "Huh?"

Adam's sheepish voice called through our coms and I sighed as I listened to him. "Yikes, sorry! Must've dropped you off at the wrong place."

I heard him mutter something about 'damn controls' before he cleared his throat and sighed.

"While you're there, why not take a little stroll?" he suggested in the same sheepish voice.

In other words, we had to walk the way. It wasn't far, but it was an inconvenience to us. With a sigh of my own, I told him fine and turned off my comm before beginning the trek down the road to the Moonflow.

We didn't make it far before running across a man sitting on a hover, with two more by his sides. They were grumbling about 'losing the runt' and seemed to be glaring all over the place as they searched for whatever it was they were searching for. Upon seeing us, one of the men came running up with an angry and obviously forced polite look on his face.

"Hey, you!" he called. "You haven't seen Tobli around anywhere, have you?"

Frowning a little, I considered his words and wondered what the little guy had done to get himself into trouble. Then I winced as I recalled his last performance and wondered if these were...'unsatisfied' patrons.

The second guy sighed and turned to us as well, a slightly more patient, but no less angry look in his eyes. "We have word that he's somewhere nearby." he explained in the same angry tone.

Suddenly, Tobli appeared just a little ways behind us and they spun around in shock, glaring at the little ball of feathers as he waved and ran off.

"Huh? Aha! There you are!" the first guy shouted.

The second guy gestured for the others to follow him and they raced off after Tobli as he ran towards Djose.

Blinking in surprise a moment, I shrugged and chased after them, ignoring the confused calls of my friends. Well, we were told to find Tobli and that's the direction he went in, so... We might as well go after him.

We rounded a corner, and soon came upon the same men, standing in the middle of the road in confusion. "Where'd he go?" the first guy called as he panted a bit.

Tobli appeared up behind us again, back at the turn in the road and covered in long grass. It looked like, he had hidden himself in the long grass on the side of the road to sneak around the men. Giving a little grin, he turned and dashed back off down the road, the men groaning behind us.

"Ah! That obnoxious midget! Found him!" the second guy cried as they once again chased after him.

If nothing else, this was good exercise, but it was a little annoying. With a roll of my eyes, I ran after them, racing down the path until we came to the bank of the Moonflow, where two of the men were on the ground, panting heavily.

"Where'd that little ball of pudge learn to run like that? I'm beat!" the first guy groaned as he fell onto his back and closed his eyes.

The second guy nodded in agreement and sighed as he hunched forward a little more. "We can't keep up." he muttered tiredly.

Turning to the others, I offered a little grin. "Tobli hunt, huh?" I said quietly. I wondered if Adam had known this was going on, or if it was just a coincidence. Seeing Tobli over by the Shoopuf, boarding it, I gasped a little and ran over... Just as the Shoopuf began it's trek.

Running over to the working hypello, Cassie spoke to him, as Dustin began talking to a few people nearby. Blake walked up to me and raised an eyebrow as he looked at me and panted a little. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again." he groaned as he held his side. "I'll never complain about Sensei's runs again."

Giggling a little, I tilted my head and regarded him. "But you've been racing for a while now." Grinning mischievously, I winked and giggled again. "Maybe you're just getting a little-"

"You _don't_ want to finish that statement." he stated firmly as he gave me a warning look in his slightly amused eyes. Shaking his head, he chuckled and sighed as his look turned a little sad. "Just because I haven't been at the Academy, doesn't mean I don't keep in shape." he said quietly.

"You miss it." I guessed out loud.

Turning to me, he offered me a confused look. "Miss it?" he repeated in confusion.

"Home. Earth. The Academy and fighting with the others. Sensei, even Lothor and his goons." I explained. I saw the look of sadness grow a little before I made my final guess. "And your brother, Hunter."

Wincing a little, Blake looked at the ground and nodded. "Yeah. I know Hunter's here, but-"

"It's not the _same_ Hunter." I finished for him. Sighing, I nodded slowly as I felt my heart clench with pain. "I miss them too. Being stuck here for two years, I kinda see this place as a second home, but..." Feeling tears building up in my eyes, I sighed. "I still miss earth. I miss Sensei and the school, but most of all... I miss the others." _And for two years, I missed you._

"We'll get back." Blake said firmly, a look of utter determination crossing his face.

"We have to." I finished under my breath.

Cassie came running over with a roll of her eyes and stopped as a concerned look flashed over her face. Giving her a small smile, I shook my head and gestured for her to say what she was going to say.

"They say Tobli crossed to the other bank."

I knew there was only one other stop for the Shoopuf, and that it was the opposite bank, but if he was running, possibly for his life, then who knows what he'd have in mind?

Getting on board a second Shoopuf, we headed across the river, only to find more men waiting for Tobli on the other side. Rushing from the loading area for the Shoopuf, we headed down the path towards Guadosalam, and stopped at a corner, to see two men standing around cluelessly.

"Where'd he go?" the first one asked angrily.

Looking at the nearby trees, the second one walked over and frowned in thought. "You don't suppose he could've climbed one of them trees, do you?" he mused out loud. Shaking his head, he kicked the trunk of the nearest tree before pounding his fist on it a few times.

Suddenly, Tobli hopped down from the tree and landed hard on the man's head, knocking him out cold. Getting up from his fallen position, Tobli rubbed the back of his head a little before running off.

The second man stared in shock at the fallen form of his friend before glaring in the direction Tobli had run off in. "I'm gonna... You're gonna..." Shaking his head, I could've sworn I saw his face turn a deep shade of red before he finally exploded. "KILL!!" Chasing off after the small bundle of feathers, we were once again left chasing him.

Once we made it halfway up the path to Guadosalam, I let out a terrified yelp as I noticed a rampaging Shoopuf heading in our very direction. As my friends and I scrambled to get out of the way, the Shoopuf ran past us, chasing the last man down the bank and back to the wharf.

Shaking my head a little, I got up off the ground and dusted myself off. Giving an incredulous look to the others, I sighed and we continued our trek to Guadosalam, finally finding Tobli standing outside of the town with a triumphant grin.

Walking up to him, I stared in shock and shook my head slowly. "I don't even wanna know." I said lowly as I blinked a bit.

Smiling cheerily, he waved his hands and shook his head. "Hi, hi! What can I do for you?"

"Well..." Dustin went on to explain what we needed and the more he said, the wider Tobli's beaked grin got. By the time he was done, the little ball of feathers was almost jumping up and down in excitement.

"Spectacularly spectacular! 'Twill be a yummy Toripalooza indeed! 'Twill go down in history! I most definitely, definitely want to arrange it! Can I, can I?" he asked excitedly.

Dustin grinned and nodded, bouncing around in his own excitement. "Yup-yup!" he cheered happily.

"A minor detail." Tobli paused and seemed to think a minute. "Where or where shall it be?"

Thinking about it, I mused out loud. "Well, the more people we can gather, the better."

He jumped a little and clapped his hands. "Aha! Then how about the Thunder Plains? Yes! You can practically pack a plethora of people in that place!" he stated happily.

Cassie nodded in agreement and sighed. "Now, how do we get the people to come?"

"Simple, simple! Leave it to me!" he cheered as he clapped loudly. "My PR team will push it pronto!"

Suddenly, the area was willed with hypello filing out of Guadosalam with grins and excited looks on their faces. The one in the lead took a step forward, revealing himself to be Tobli's assistant, and grinned. "Advertising ish our shpeshalty. We'll get you your shpectators."

"Are you sure about this?" Cassie asked me with a wide eyed look at the number of hypello surrounding us.

Adam's voice came through the com and he seemed to sigh. "Brother's orders. Bring back every last one of those hypello."

Boarding the Celsius with the numerous hypello, Brother traveled all over Spira and dropped them off in groups to advertise the concert. The thing is, he didn't even have to land. The hypello stood on the deck and groups of 6 dove off at a time.

Dustin watched as another group dove head first off the deck as the ship was still in the air and shook his head with wide eyes. "They've got guts." he said only as he watched them bounce around excitedly.

Looking over to Ethan, I noticed him working on something new and walked over curiously. "What are you up to?" I asked softly as I watched him fiddle with a piece of machina.

"A project." he answered simply as he looked up at me. "I'm engineering a giant sphere screen for the stage. That way, even people way in the back will be able to see you."

Nodding, I watched as he fiddled with some wires and tilted my head a little. "Your invention?" I asked curiously.

Nodding, he looked over to the screen where the commsphere waves were coming in and smirked a little. "Not to mention, we're still picking up lots of waves through the commsphere."

"Nice work." I complimented him with a smile.

Suddenly, Adam's voice interrupted us and I turned to see him looking over at me. "All of the hypello have been deployed." he informed us cheerily.

"YAY!" Brother cheered as he pumped a fist into the air. "To the concert grounds!" he cried as he began piloting to the Thunder Plains.

Meanwhile, I decided to check the commspheres to see if anyone had anything to tell us. Connecting to Besaid first, I was surprised to see Sky at the scene. Seeming to sense that the sphere behind him had activated, he turned around and approached. "Oh, it's you." he said flatly.

Raising my eyebrow, I knew he didn't really mean for it to come out so insulting. It was just the way he was.

"You've probably heard, but I've been called back to the Youth League. It's a shame though...having to leave everything on Besaid in the hands of slackers."

Now that he _did_ mean to come out insulting and I scowled slightly before forcing myself to relax. "Besaid will be fine." I said pointedly. "Shane's there to keep an eye on things."

Snorting, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Small consolation. His brother was ten times the man Shane will ever be."

Gasping slightly, I felt my eyes go wide. "You knew Porter?" Spiran Tori had only met him once, but her memory of him remained fresh and strong.

Nodding a little, he looked over to where the Aurochs were still training. "We fought in the Crusaders together. He always talked about Shane. Said, "My brother's the greatest person in Spira!" Imagine my surprise to find out the legendary Shane's nothing more than a wishy-washy wimp. There are so many things I'd wanted to talk to him about...but not anymore." he said with a disappointed sigh.

Frowning, I bit back the urge to order Brother to take us to Besaid, just so I could hurt him for that comment. Instead, I struggled to remain calm and polite. "Things?" I repeated, hoping to change the subject a little.

"Memories." Shaking his head, he sighed. "Well that's enough chit-chat. I need to get ready to leave."

With that, he walked away and the commsphere disconnected. Next, we connected to Kilika, where Kimberly was...talking to herself, and it was a little amusing to watch her.

"Without you, the house seems so empty." she began in a tone filled with longing. "I can't bear it. I wake up each morning, but without seeing your face, it's as if my day hasn't really begun." Sighing, she looked sadly out the window, still oblivious to our presence. "Please, come _home_, Tommy!" Shaking her head, she groaned and her face hardened. "This _so_ isn't me!"

Placing my hand over my mouth, I giggled silently as I listened to her ranting.

Turning her back to the sphere, she paused for a moment before trying another approach. "You seem to have forgotten exactly who it is you're supposed to be protecting." she stated in her normal voice. "I ought to fire you for just up and leaving the way you did." Sighing dramatically, she shook her head. "But I suppose I am partly to blame, letting you get away with so much. I didn't give you proper supervision. We both need to do some soul-searching. Tommy, we're leaving!"

With a nod of her head, she relaxed a little and turned back to face out the window. "Yes, that should do it." she said to herself as we quickly disconnected the commsphere.

"I didn't see a thing." Ethan said with a smirk as he reconnected to make it look like we were _just_ connecting to say hi.

This time, she was facing the commsphere and grinned as she picked it up and headed out of her hut to a small pile of balloons that were tied up just outside.

"Ummm…" _Do I wanna know?_

As if sensing my question, her grin grew as she began tying the sphere to the balloons. "The balloons are sure to reach the temple." She said simply. "Let's give it a try."

"This can't be good." Ethan said with a frown as the commsphere began to float into the sky and towards the temple.

Smiling warmly, Kimberly waved into the commsphere. "All my best for the concert!" she called as the sphere floated away and automatically disconnected.

"Was it supposed to do that?" Blake asked as he walked up.

"Yeah." Ethan answered as he typed a few commands into the computer. "It's one of a few programs I installed into each commsphere. In a moment, we'll be able to reconnect."

After a few moments, we tried just that and I was surprised to see Tommy holding the commsphere with a slight smile. "Hey, look!" he said immediately as he pointed to a large pile of balloons. "These are some balloons that Kimberly and some of the villagers sent us, so we're trying to send some back."

"What about you?" I asked curiously, noticing that he, unlike many of the people in the temple, was not blowing up balloons.

Sighing, his smile faded and he shook his head. "It's no good. No matter how many times I try, I always end up over inflating and bursting the balloons." Groaning, he looked into the sky. "Will my feelings be stranded here forever? Kimberly!" he cried in frustration, squeezing the commsphere until it broke.

I blinked in shock as Ethan shook his head. "Such wanton and vocal destruction." He chided.

Giggling, I decided to try connecting to Zanarkand to see how everything was going. By now, many of the tourists had cleared out, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Billy was still there. Looking at the commsphere, he offered a small smile and walked over.

"Tori?"

I nodded and smiled at him. "Hello."

Smiling, he shook his head and pointed slightly to a hypello that was leaving the area. "The hypello told me the news. You're having a concert? Using the power of song to unite Spira, is that it?" he asked with a warm look in his eyes. Bowing slightly, he chuckled. "I know you can do it. Or rather, you're the only one of us who could do that. Good luck Tori."

"Thank you." I said warmly as I bowed my head back.

Sighing, he shook his head slowly and looked a little unsettled. "Using machina to talk like this still doesn't feel right to me." He admitted quietly. Working with Cid, I did get used to the idea, but I still have my doubts. Jason often laughs at me, saying that I am behind times."

Nodding with a smile, I raised an eyebrow. "We talked with Jason using one of these. He's in Bevelle."

Billy looked a little surprised by this revelation, but nodded after a moment. "In Bevelle, you say? How is Bevelle?"

"It's not looking good. They can't find anyone to lead in place of T.J. since he left."

Pursing his lips, he raised an eyebrow at me and sighed. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to push their problems on you, High Summoner."

"Well…what would they expect _me_ to do?"

Looking a little troubled, Billy turned away from the sphere and walked a few steps away. "I'd had no idea things had gotten so bad. Thank you for telling me." He said quietly. With a sigh, he looked out over the ruins of Zanarkand and shook his head. "What is it I'm supposed to be protecting?" he asked himself quietly.

Disconnecting the commsphere, I finally decided it was time for practice for the concert and snuck out of the bridge to make my way to the cabin. Once there, Barkeep was standing behind the bar and looked at me curiously. "Rehearshal shtarting." he said as he pointed over to where Dustin was standing by a set of mics, in his Songster dressphere.

"Hey, Tori, hurry up and change!" he called as he saw me, before he went back to dancing around.

Immediately, I changed into my Songstress and walked over. Taking up a position beside him, we began to practice, moving in sync with each other and to the music. By the time we were done, we were both laughing, sweaty and panting.

Sighing, I felt a little nervous and bit my lip as I took a deep breath to help calm my nerves. I'd never really performed like this in front of so many people and I was really getting scared. The closest I'd ever gotten was Totally Talented, and even then, it was just a dance in front of _maybe_ 50 people. But here…and now… There would be at least a thousand people, and I'd have to _sing_!

"It's almost time." I muttered quietly as I turned to face Dustin. "Do you think people will really show up?" I asked almost breathlessly.

"You betcha!" he cheered with a grin. "I bet the Thunder Plains'll be packed! But…" Frowning a little, he cocked his head to the side and raised a hand to his chin. "What're you gonna sing?"

Closing my eyes a moment, I heard a tone echoing through my mind and began to hum it out loud, feeling an overwhelming surge of pain and desperation run through me until I stopped.

"Wow." He said in awe as he stared at me with wide eyes. "Did you write that?"

Shaking my head, I cast my eyes to the ground and frowned as I felt my eyebrows furrowing. "It's more like I felt it. I can hear it echoing inside me." I explained.

"Karone?" he asked as his eyes got even wider.

I nodded slowly. "I think so. I don't know much about her, but I'm learning more and more. Bits and pieces of her memories keep pouring in. It's like…It's like I'm feeling what she was feeling."

Grinning, he dramatically threw his arms around. "Thus shall Karone's scattered thoughts be woven into bittersweet song…" Stopping and turning to me, he blinked for a moment. "Something like that?"

Laughing, I nodded and pointed my finger at him. "Hey, that was poetic." I said simply as I kept giggling.

Cassie came walking in with Blake at her side and watched as we changed back into our regular dresspheres. "We'll be arriving soon. After Adam drops us off, he'll go pick up the spectators." She informed us as we began walking to the elevator.

"So we won't be able to board for a while." I finished with a determined nod as we rode the elevator to the bridge.

"You got it." She agreed.

As we walked onto the bridge, I approached Adam and sighed silently as I tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

We're over the Thunder Plains. You ready to land?" he asked me carefully.

Nodding slowly, I offered a small smile. "Let's do it." I said firmly.

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Okay, there's the second half of the previous chapter.

Hope you like it.

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"One thousand years ago, before the time of Sin…Spira was torn in two, divided by a great war. This was Spira's great mistake."

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Please R+R. Your comments mean a lot to me.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	34. A Stormy Concert

**Disclaimer** : I don't own Power Rangers Ninja Storm, Final Fantasy X-2 or the song 1000 Words.

**Note** : This might remind some of my fic 1000 Words, but I did that before this. I am also relying on it to describe what happens in the song, so please don't mind the similarities. I would rely on the video, but on the current computer I am using, the video won't play, so…..

**Legend** :

"Speaking"

_Thoughts_

_Tori's Thought Narration_

_**Lyrics**_

(Scene/POV changes)

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(Thunder Plains)

Walking through the Guadosalam entrance to the Thunder Plains, we had to weave our way through the crowd of people that had already built up since the hypello were dispatched to tell everyone about my concert. Taking in the praise and encouragement gracefully, we finally managed to make it to the hypello standing just on the other side, ignoring the cold rain.

The hypello seemed to be a little worried, though why? Honestly, I didn't know. I mean, everything _seemed_ to be ok. There weren't any fiends running around, and the weather seemed a little lighter than normal.

"Hello, Gullwings. Good to shee yoo. Are yoo ready to shing your shong?" he asked with worried eyes.

Nodding briskly, I offered him a small, tentative smile. "Yeah. More or less. You ready?"

Shaking his head, he sighed. "We've got a shticky situation. Shum fiends have shown up to shnack on the shpectators." He said as he waved his hands over his head in a frenzy.

Cassie grinned and turned to the others with a nod. "Pre-concert hurt fest time."

With a parting nod to the panicked hypello, we raced off through the Thunder Plains, looking for any sign of the fiends that had been preying on innocent bystanders. Once we got halfway across, Dustin suddenly stopped and pointed over to a cave we had never noticed before. Without even considering my actions, I was the first to take off towards it, and raced inside, already noting the increased fiend activity as a Flan Palido and a few other fiends rushed around.

_Great._ I thought to myself sarcastically. Pulling out my guns, I began the trek through the cave, fighting off fiends with my friends, and soon making it to an area that involved a lot of climbing. Making it past the broken trail, it was easy to spot the lead fiend. It was a giant green dragon that breathed fire.

Hopping across more broken pathway, we headed straight for it and began our fight.

Blake used his ninja streaking, which we had easily noticed gave us a better chance in battles, and sliced at the dragon as he ran around it in a navy blur. Stopping a moment, he jumped back beside Cassie and charged up a powerful wateraga spell before launching it at the fiend.

Once the spell had hit and injured the thing, Dustin raced forward with his daggers and stole what appeared to be a long, white ribbon from it.

Now I know what everyone's thinking, but on this world, even the simplest of items had magical properties. A Ribbon tended to protect the wearer from all magics or items used, that would normally inflict some kind of health problem on them. Poison, silence, blind, confuse… None of them effected a person if they were wearing a Ribbon.

Once he'd inflicted his damage, he ran over and handed the Ribbon to me, which I promptly tied into Blake's upper arm. He gave me a look of confusion before realization seemed to settle in, and he looked uncertain about taking it, leaving me vulnerable to these health problems, but raising an eyebrow, I shot him a look that dared him to argue with me and he shook his head slowly with a wry smile and a word of thanks.

Resuming our battle, Cassie had just come back from her attack and I took that time to fire a Trigger Happy at the dragon, causing it to finally collapse and fade away.

With out mission complete, we ran out of the now empty cave, barely registering that the fiends were gone, and soon met up with the hypello again right outside. A moment later, and an engine was heard as the Celsius made it's appearance. Shielding my eyes, I looked up as Adam sent us a transmition.

"We're landing!" he stated with some frustration. "If we cram anymore people on board, this thing'll fall out of the sky!"

I watched as the airship slowly landed and a large hoard of people got off. Then it was our turn to get on and see what to do next. Taking the elevator to the bridge, we walked to the middle of the room as Brother turned in his seat to face us.

"We brought in people from New Yevon and the Youth League." He informed us with a serious nod. "They're all outside, on the concert grounds."

Dustin, who had been watching the events outside, thanks to another of Ethan's commspheres, turned to us with a confused look and motioned for us to come over. "Hey, uh, the crowd is acting kinda funny." he said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Let me pull the video up." Ethan said as he typed in a few commands and the screen zoomed in to a small group of New Yevon followers, facing off against a small group of Youth League members.

"Uh-oh." Dustin stated with a frown as he watched them argue. "This could get messy."

Shaking his head, Adam gave a bemused smirk and sighed. "No kidding." He grimaced a bit as if in memory of something and rolled his eyes. "Those two have been bumping heads since they got on board the airship. Yeah…looks like they're itchin' to start somethin'."

"I'll pick up the audio." Ethan said with a nod as he fiddled with the controls.

Suddenly we were able to hear their words, and it wasn't pretty.

"The Yevonites are here, too?" a Youth League member spat angrily, glaring coldly at several priests and monks across from him. "How am I supposed to enjoy the concert with them stinking up the air?"

Shaking his head, the lead priest rolled his eyes and gave a haughty glare to the man who just spoke. "Hey! You Youth League dogs will never be worthy of hearin' the High Summoner sing!"

A second priest nodded and sneered. "If the Praetor were here, he'd never let these maggots walk around, spouting their nonsense." he said with disgust.

Turning to his friends, a Youth League member glared at the ground as he let out a grunt. "What I want to know is, where'd Carlos go? It's his fault Spira's falling apart. What kind of leader abandons his people when they need him the most?"

With that, the screen faded to black and I let out a cross between a sigh and a groan. "Will they _ever_ stop?" I wondered out loud.

"Seriously." Dustin muttered in agreement.

Turning to me, Cassie shrugged. "Well Tori? You're the one who wanted to do something."

Blinking for a moment, I hesitated. "Yeah, but…" I realized I had no choice and sighed. "Right."

"Hm. So, let's do something." she said with a smile.

"Right. Let's do it!" I agreed with more enthusiasm.

"Oh!" Tobli came running onto the bridge in a panic. "Catastrophic catastrophe! Dear me, dear me! What oh whatever should I do? The spectators are making a spectacle! I don't even want to speculate… Oh Tori, please do something!" he pleaded as he raced around the bridge in a frenzy.

Grinning to my friends, I nodded. "Leave it to us!"

Stopping his pacing, he nodded and a relieved smile came over his face. "Tori, we're counting on you!"

"On with the show!" I cheered as I turned to my friends. Standing in a triangle with Dustin and Cassie, I thrust my hand into the center of us with a grin. "T!" I called.

Dustin followed my lead and placed his hand over mine. "D!"

"C!" Cassie called, as she placed her hand over ours.

Throwing our hands into the air, Dustin and I jumped and Dustin began bouncing around as I giggled excitedly. It was strange, but my nervousness was suddenly gone. I didn't really notice it, but I was filled with a strange calm now.

Making my way to the deck, I changed into my Songstress and grabbed my microphone as I stepped out into the wet, cool evening. The people were still talking and arguing so they didn't notice me step up to the edge of the deck that was to act as my stage, but with a final glance to my friends behind me, I nodded and turned back, raising my mic as I began to speak.

"One thousand years ago, before the time of Sin… Spira was torn in two, divided by a great war. This was Spira's great mistake."

The people's voices died down and they turned to me, listening intently to what I had to say. It made me a little nervous again, but in a blink of an eye, that nervousness was gone as well. It was kind of worrying, how the entire world would stop whatever they're doing, just to listen to whatever I had to say. And the power I held…. If I told them to jump, they'd jump before I finished telling them how high.

"Out of the rift left by this terrible conflict, Sin was born. In only two short years, Spira has shaken off it's unhappy past. We have moved on. Now, Spira grows brighter with each passing day. That light is our strength. I _don't_ want to see it fade." Locking eyes with many Youth League and New Yevon members, I directed my next question right at them.

"Do you?"

Stopping for a second, I took a deep breath as I felt a strange energy and extra presence within me. "There are so many of us, each with different ideas and different beliefs. Of course we sometimes disagree, and arguments _will_ happen. But our hearts _can_ and _should_ always be one."

Suddenly, a second voice began speaking with me and I heard the faint gasps from my friends, showing that they heard it as well. "Believe with me. Even if we are torn apart, our feelings will unite us. That is what this song is about."

The gentle music began and I closed my eyes as I swayed to the music, ignoring the rain as it continued to fall on me, soaking me from head to toe.

(1000 Words by Jade from Sweetbox)

_**I know that you're hiding things**_

_**Using gentle words to shelter me.**_

_**Your words were like a dream.**_

_**But dreams could never fool me.**_

_**Not that easily.**_

The rain began to slowly down to a drizzle and the thunder began to fade, but I kept singing.

_**I acted so distant then**_

_**Didn't say goodbye before you left.**_

_**But I was listening.**_

The rain stopped all together and the thunder faded right away, so only the music and my words were left.

_**You'll fight your battles far from me.**_

_**Far too easily.**_

Suddenly, my outfit began to glow a little and the entire Thunder Plains faded away as a glowing image of a giant machina city appeared and rushed by. Buildings, strange machina vehicles and thousands of people passed by, and I noticed many of the spectators watching in shock and awe.

Some of them jumped aside as a building approached, instinctively trying to get out of the way, only for the building to pass through them, making people realize these were not real.

_**"Save your tears, 'cause I'll come back."**_

_**I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door.**_

_**But still I swore…**_

A flash of light ignited and my outfit glowed brightly as pyreflies swirled around me before rising to the sky to form a portal of fire.

_**To hide my pain**_

_**When I turned back the pages:**_

_**Shouting might have been the answer.**_

Now small balls of fire fell around the airship and everything got dark as the image of Vegnagun appeared behind me, towering over everyone menacingly as a blonde haired figure approached it slowly.

_**What if I'd cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart…**_

_**But now I'm not afraid to say, what's in my heart!**_

In my place, another figure emerged as those last two words were sung. She looked a lot like me, only older by a few years. Shoulder length blonde hair fell neatly around her shoulders and piercing blue eyes stared out at the crowd sadly.

Karone.

Taking a step to the side, I took up my place beside her as we sang the chorus together.

_**'Cause a thousand words**_

_**Call out through the ages.**_

Zhane appeared, sitting in the seat on the top of Vegnagun's head, playing a keyboard of some kind with anger in his eyes. Karone was shown running up to the large platform below, throwing her arms out to her side as she called silently up to him, making him stop and spin around in shock.

_**They'll fly to you**_

_**Even though I can't see, I know they're reaching you!**_

_**Suspended on silver wings!**_

The image changed again and now it showed the platform with Vegnagun sitting behind it. A large, bright spotlight was flipped on, and Zhane and Karone ran into the center of the platform, embracing each other tightly with pain and sadness in Karone's eyes, and pain and anger in Zhane's.

A quick image of armed guards running down the path to the platform was shown before it went back to Zhane and Karone.

_**Oh, a thousand words**_

_**One thousand embraces**_

_**Will cradle you**_

_**Making all of your weary days seem far away!**_

_**They'll hold you forever!**_

The musical interlude began to play as I closed my eyes, feeling Karone's pain, and I swayed steadily to the music.

Scenes grew more solid, and flashes of images sped by. My dream of being led down the hall, but it was Zhane and Karone who were running for their lives. The shadowed face of Zhane approaching Vegnagun. And Zhane walking away before he spun and smiled at Karone.

Soldiers suddenly ran in and blocked their only escape, three kneeling down in the front as they aimed their guns, with four behind them, standing as they aimed their guns.

Zhane had been glaring at the soldiers but turned to look at Karone with such sadness and longing. She in turn, returned his gaze with one of sadness and love. Offering him a weak smile, a single tear fell from the corner of her eye as her mouth opened slightly.

That's when the guards shot them, and they were forced apart, falling to land only inches from each other. It was clear Zhane died almost immediately, but Karone lived for a moment longer, more tears falling as she struggled in vain to grab his hand. But a moment later, and she too died.

Fighting my tears, I took a deep breath as we began to sing again.

_**Oh a thousand words, **_

_**Have never been spoken.**_

_**They'll fly to you**_

_**They'll carry you home, and back into my arms!**_

_**Suspended on silver wings!**_

The image changed back to Vegnagun standing behind us as we sang, and I couldn't help but notice the shocked, pale faces of the people listening.

_**And a thousand words**_

_**Call out through the ages**_

_**They'll cradle you**_

_**Turning all of your lonely years to only days! **_

_**They'll hold you forever!**_

At singing the last word, Karone disappeared along with all of the images, and we were back in the Thunder Plains, only it still wasn't raining and the sun began to peak through the clouds for the first time in a long time.

Turning my face from the crowd, I swayed with the music as I felt the tears build up. Looking back at them, I raised my mic and finished the song in a quieter tone.

_**Ohhh…. A thousand words.**_

Once the music stopped, my legs collapsed and I fell to my knees as my tears trailed down my cheeks. Dropping my mic to the deck, I sobbed quietly at what we'd all just witnessed.

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Well….I hope it isn't too much like my fic 1000 Words. I tried to describe it the best I could from memory. I hope it turned out well.

Sorry about the late update. I was busy and gone from my computer all week and the one I am working on at the moment has a very slow internet connection. At least… I'm making this a multiple update. I'll have three, if not more, chapters to post. But again, I'm sorry for the long wait.

I hope you liked it.

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"But wait… Everything is all wrong. He never heard. The one person she wanted to tell… He never heard her words!"

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Please R+R and let me know what you think. All comments are appreciated.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	35. Talks and Revelations Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Well, I'm coming closer to the end of this fic. Soon, there will be a second interlude, if you will, that deals with how the earth Rangers are dealing with things as well as explaining more about the evil that was mentioned in the previous interlude.

And for a seemingly note of randomness…. I love cherries… and Blake, but he's JuseaPeterson's, so… and Hunter… But yeah, GO CHERRIES! (crickets can be heard)

Uhhh….Ahem, on with the fic…

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(Celsius Cabin, Blake's POV)

That concert had been….weird. I'd say interesting, but I honestly felt more creeped out by what happened than anything else. What started as a simple speech ended up as two women speaking through one body. Then what looked like a normal song began showing flashing images of what I now recognized as Zanarkand, Vegnagun, and two people. From listening to Tori's broken explanation, I got that they were Zhane and Karone.

And now… I was sitting on a bed in the cabin, holding Tori against me as she rested in my lap with her head buried under my chin. When I'd run to her at the end of the song, I'd picked her up as she sobbed and carried her here, while Cassie followed me and Dustin raced to the bridge, hoping for some sort of explanation.

Tori had calmed down a lot, but still sniffled and hiccupped a bit as she rubbed at her damp face, leaning more into my touch and giving me a soft, grateful smile. "Tor." I whispered as I caught her eye after another moment.

Sniffling a bit more, she shook her head and sighed a little, being obviously emotionally drained after that little episode. "I'm all right… I'm fine. It's passed now." She assured me as she cuddled into my embrace more.

Dustin finally came running back and raced up the stairs to the beds. Once he reached Cassie's side, he stopped and bent over as he began to pant heavily.

"What did Ethan say?" Cassie asked in her trademark monotone as she finally tore her eyes from my exhausted Tori.

_Wait…_my_ exhausted Tori?_ I thought as my eyes widened a bit. Looking down at the tired angel in my arms, I felt my face warm up and a smile play at the corners of my lips.

Waving his arms dramatically, Dustin launched into an over enthusiastic explanation as he gave us all confused looks. "Umm, he said it might be some kind of, uh, interference with the sphere waves. Tori's dressphere and the sphere screen reacted with each other and…" Stopping, he scratched the back of his head nervously. "The consciousness burned into the dressphere was projected onto the screen!" Then he shrugged and looked even more lost. "Or something like that…"

"Okay…" Cassie said slowly, looking as lost as I think the rest of us felt. "But that doesn't explain _why_ it happened."

He nodded slowly before shaking his head and shrugging a bit. "When I asked, he said, 'I'm only a kid'."

"It's Karone."

We all turned our attention to Tori as she slowly moved and stood up, looking at us all with tired, red rimmed eyes. "I was singing her feelings. During the song, I could feel them building up inside until they just….burst."

"So the people we saw…" I mused out loud, remembering the vision of the blonde man, Zhane, and the blonde woman, Karone being shot. "Were Karone and…Zhane?"

Shaking her head, Cassie moved to the stairs with Dustin following behind her. "Everyone's waiting. Let's go." She said simply as they left.

Turning to Tori, I frowned a little as she looked lost in her thoughts. "You sure you're ok?" I asked in concern.

She nodded slowly with a slight troubled look on her face. "Her feelings… She never got to tell Zhane how she felt."

With that, she quickly shook her head and offered me a small smile as she changed back into her Gunner dressphere. Walking to a small ledge that hung just over the lower part of the cabin, she winked before jumping down.

Despite her smile, I knew this was really bugging her, and so, it bugged me. I only hoped we could get this all sorted out and stop Zhane from destroying Spira. Following her, I jumped from the ledge and went to the elevator, taking it to the bridge to find Zordon there with the others. When he saw us, he smiled and bowed in respect to Tori.

"'Twas a magnificent melody, my Lady." He said as he looked at her with shining eyes. "The onlookers were all quite enchanted."

Nodding, she bowed in return and gave him a small smile. "If it brings Spira together, even a little, then I'm glad."

He sighed and nodded his head vigorously. "Indeed, I believe it shall. As you sang, not a soul could help but realize the folly of their tiresome squabbling. Fists once raised in anger became welcoming hands offering solace to a tearful neighbor." His smile turned sad as he nodded his head. "I must admit that I too, shed my share of tears the moment that Karone appeared."

Tori gasped and I felt my eyes go wide. "You know Karone?" I asked doubtfully. I mean, if she died 1000 years ago, then how could he know her?

He nodded again. "Of course. Would you like to hear-"

"Yes!" Tori cried, unintentionally cutting him off. "Tell us, please!"

Chuckling a little at her enthusiasm, he nodded. "Where to begin?" He seemed to think about it a moment before nodding to himself as he came to a decision. "About a thousand years ago, Karone was a popular Songstress in Zanarkand. The talk of the town, you might say. In more peaceful times, she might have lived out her years as a performer. But the times, and her talents, did not allow such a thing to be. You see, Karone's gift for singing was matched only by her talents as a Summoner."

Now it was my turn to gasp and Tori's face went pale. So, Karone was not only a singer, but also a Summoner? I remembered learning about the war that took place so long ago, and how so many Summoners had to take the front line to protect Zanarkand and it's people.

"When the machina war began, all Summoners were sent to the front lines."

_Sacrificed in vain._ I thought darkly, thinking of the 1000 years Sin ravaged Spira and killed so many.

"Zanarkand was hopelessly outnumbered, and Karone knew she would not return home alive. Nonetheless, she was prepared to lay down her life to protect her people. Yet there was one person who refused to let Karone die. Yes, he would do anything to protect her. He was…" Zordon stopped and scratched his head as he struggled to think. "A young man, Karone's lover." He finished with a sad sigh.

"Zhane?" Dustin guessed quietly.

Zordon shook his head slowly and sighed. "I…don't know. His name has been lost to history." He said quietly. "Whatever his name, the youth endeavored to steal the enemy's machina weapon and save Karone. However…"

"It didn't exactly go well." I muttered quietly, thinking of what we all saw during Tori's song.

"The lovers met a truly tragic end. Those images we all witnessed are most certainly a record of their last moments together." He said as he walked to the elevator. Taking it down to the engine room where the ramp was, he left the airship as we all thought about what he said.

"So Zhane was Karone's lover." Cassie said with a thoughtful frown.

"I think I can kinda understand how he felt…" Dust said as he walked over to Tori and took her hands, looking at her with big, sad, green eyes. "…Trying so hard to save someone. Two years ago, I was the same way. Trying to find some way… some way to save you." He said as tears welled up in his eyes.

"_We_ were the same way." I said as I walked over and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"That was enough." She said quietly as she looked into Dustin's eyes and squeezed his hands, leaning more into my embrace. "Knowing that you are on my side… I'll always be grateful to you."

"I think Karone might have felt the same way." Cassie said with a soft smile as her eyes glazed over a bit and she stared into space. "The man she loved, he struggled to save her. He fought to his very last breath for her. I think that Karone's final words might've been happy ones." She looked at us all and her smile grew a little. "'I love you'."

Tori let a few tears escape and I tightened my hold on her briefly before pulling away and taking her hand gently in my own.

"Yes, there is a connection." She said softly before frowning and shaking her head. "But wait… Everything is all wrong! He never heard. The one person she wanted to tell… He never heard her words!"

Suddenly, an alarm rang out through the ship and Adam typed a few commands into his panel before it shut off. "Well, waddaya know? It's Cassidy's gang. They want to see Tori. I'll have them wait in the engine room." He said with a little grin.

Even though, technically, Cassidy and her gang were allies now, Brother and Adam still didn't like or trust them. At least, it was good to know she wasn't still moping around in her room.

With a sigh, I followed Tori to the elevator, taking it down to the engine room to speak to Cassidy. Walking in, she raced up to us and waved her fan in front of her face as she held out a sphere.

"I've been hunting around since we last met, and I've come across a rather peculiar sphere. It shows my Carlos-baby!" Then she huffed and rolled her eyes. "For some reason, that chump, T.J. is also there, but I'm afraid it's from some years ago, so it's no good to us now." Handing it over, I noticed it was another red sphere. Tori took it with a small nod and placed it in her pouch for safe keeping.

"How about you? Have you tracked down my Carlos-baby yet?" she asked hopefully.

Tori seemed to bite her lip a moment before she sighed and nodded. "He's in the Farplane. I saw him there with Marah." She admitted.

Cassidy gasped in horror before screeching. "The Farplane?! _What_ is he doing in a place like that?!?" she demanded in a high pitched voice as she paced the room in a frenzy.

"I think he's searching for T.J. and Vegnagun." She said softly.

"Oh, so T.J's the one pulling Vegnagun's strings! I should have known!" she said as she got a look of understanding and glared into space.

Tori shook her head quickly and raised her hands in defense. "No, that's not it at all! How do I explain….?" She wondered to herself.

Raising her own hand, Cassidy rolled her eyes and huffed. "Never mind, I don't have time for this. Boys, we're going to the Farplane!" she commanded as both Bulk and Skull cowered behind her.

Bulk began to whine and shake his head as a look of utter terror crossed his face. "Anything but that, boss!"

"We're no match for that sort of opponent!" Skull agreed as he got on his knees and shook his head with his hands up in front of him, pleading.

"Now don't be silly." She said in a dramatic, overly lovesick voice. "The power of love conquers all!" She was obviously thinking of Carlos when she said that, if her dreamy expression was anything to go by. "It's decided! We're going to save Spira!"

Tori grinned happily, obviously glad for the encouragement and help, and nodded as she saluted Cassidy. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Then, let's get this tanker moving!" Cassidy called as she led the way back to the elevator that took us to the bridge.

As we entered the bridge, Ethan spun around in his seat to give us a confused look. "This is strange." he said as he waved us over.

Walking over to his console, Tori nodded at him to continue. "What is this?" he asked himself quietly as he regarded his screen. "Looks like a transmition, but it's pretty weak."

"Oh?" Tori asked cluelessly, trying to get him to explain.

"I'm getting signals from the commsphere we dropped in that hole, but I can't seem to connect." he explained with a shake of his head as he typed a few commands.

That's when Cassidy walked over and sighed as she raised her fan. "Enough, little boy." she said haughtily. "Move aside." As we moved out of the way, she struck the machina with her fan and managed to give it a strange energy boost, which was just what it needed. "See? It connected." she put in with a smug grin.

Ethan gasped as an image of the Farplane was shown. "Inconceivable!"

Marah appeared on the screen with a slightly impressed look as she looked up at the hovering machina. "Impressive machina! An invention like this could change the world. Whoever came up with this is a genius." she appraised with her hand on her hip.

"She's got good taste." Ethan said with a grin as he typed up some commands.

Laughing quietly to herself, Marah continued. "Guess I'm a genius, too, for fixing it! Anybody home?" she called with a wave.

"Marah!" Tori cried happily.

Ethan shook his head and sighed. "I don't think she can hear us."

"No response." Marah said in disappointment, confirming Ethan's guess. "Hm."

"Some genius." Carlos scoffed as he limped into the screen's view.

"Carlos-baby!" Cassidy cried in a happy voice.

"If you're done playing, let's go." He said with a raised eyebrow to Marah who suddenly seemed to hesitate.

Shaking her head, she offered him a weak grin. "Chill out." She said flippantly as she shrugged a little.

Grinning at her with his eyebrow still raised, Carlos tilted his head a bit. "Lost your nerve?" he shot at her teasingly.

Glaring at him, she huffed. "Hey, we're talking about Vegnagun here." She said in defense, her face paling a bit. "How the hell do you fight that thing? We can't even walk up to it without it freakin' out."

"Or making it mad." Carlos agreed seriously. "But I've got a plan."

"And if it doesn't work?" she asked carefully, her voice shaking the tiniest bit.

Shrugging again, he turned his back to her. "Death will be my apology." He said with an emotionless look on his face.

Shuddering a bit, she glared at him again. "Whatever. When a Deathseeker dies, that's no apology. What about Cassidy?"

Looking thoughtful, Carlos turned back around. "Well, she-"

Suddenly, the sphere cut out and everyone gasped in surprise. Everyone except for Cassidy that is, who was thoroughly horrified that it stopped when it did. "W-Why did it just cut off like that?" she demanded once again, in a high pitched voice as she stomped her foot. "Just when he was getting to the juicy bits!"

"It's not my fault." Ethan defended himself with a slight glare and shrug.

Shaking her head, she glared at him and huffed. "What a piece of junk!" she cried. "Forget it." Suddenly regaining her calm, she put in an airy look and turned to her companions. "I'll go ask him myself."

They left the bridge, heading off the ship and leaving us to ourselves.

"What about the Gullwings?" Brother asked in his heavily accented voice.

Tori, who had been quiet this whole time, suddenly spoke up with a troubled yet determined look on her face. "I think that we should help Carlos and Marah. But first…" She gave me an apologetic and hopeful look and I could only stare back in confusion. "I want to talk to Zhane. I have to tell him how Karone felt."

I suddenly understood. He seemed to believe she was Karone, because of the dressphere, and might have to approach him as her. She might have to say 'I love you' to him, and that's why she looked so troubled.

It hurt me to think of her saying those words to someone else, even if she didn't mean them, but I knew that, for the sake of Spira, she had to try. Giving her a small nod, I pushed my jealousy and pain back, forcing myself to be supportive for her. I knew she loved me, as I loved her. I would do anything to protect her, to help her.

Blinking a moment, I realized how Zhane must have felt. The woman he loved was in danger and he wanted to save her. Really thinking about it, I knew that if I had been in his place, I would've done the same thing.

"I'm sure he'll understand." Tori's words brought me back to the present and she was looking at the others as she continued to explain. "But…how? We can't exactly make an appointment." She said the last bit, seemingly to herself.

"We'll just have to jump into one of those holes." Cassie said with a shrug.

Dustin nodded and gave a reproachful look to Tori. "_Together_ this time." he said pointedly.

Tori blushed and nodded sheepishly as she looked at the others. Turning to me, she gave me a questioning but somewhat less troubled look before smiling slightly and nodding a little.

"Roger!" Brother said as he put in the coordinates to our next stop. "Gullwings! We move out! Celsius, full speed ahead!" he cried excitedly as he took off from the Thunder Plains and we began our last leg of our journey.

**End of Chapter 4**

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Well there you have it. One interlude, one chapter (of the game script thus a few more chapters in the fic…)… (Sighs) Still a bit to go…

Hope you like it.

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"We got a call from Besaid. It seems Kelly and Skyla had their babies."

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Please R+R. All comments are appreciated.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	36. Talks and Revelations Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I guess this is a sort of second part to the previous chapter. Next chapter should be a little more lively, and become more action filled as we continue with the fic.

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(Celsius Deck, Tori's POV)

"Vegnagun's definitely bothering me, but…there are other things we need to worry about too. Look at Spira. It's a total mess." Dustin said as he faced the rest of us with worry, the wind blowing through his hair.

Allowing myself to get distracted, I mentally questioned how such a strong wind could blow, but a force field stayed in place to keep us from blowing off the deck. Then my mind jumped to how such a different world could have my friends, and they're so similar to my friends back on earth. Changing the direction of my thoughts, I began to ponder what Blake thought about my idea, concerning Zhane.

I knew it bothered him, but he'd been nothing but supportive since I made the announcement. I wondered… Did he really know what I meant? Was he really ok with it?

"Shall we go check things out?" Cassie asked, effectively bringing me back to the present and what was going on.

Looking troubled, Dustin looked to me, then Blake, before turning back to Cassie. "I don't know if we have the time." He said honestly.

"Well…" I began as I looked to the others. On one hand, Dustin was right. Every second we spared on checking out the cities and towns of Spira, was a second Zhane could use to get to Vegnagun and destroy Spira. Then, on the other hand, we might find out some useful information and it could help us to stop Vegnagun. I guess, really… "We'll just play it by ear." I told them uncertainly.

"Way to take control" Cassie mumbled sarcastically, and I felt my face heat up.

Brothers voice rang through our coms, and I raised an eyebrow as I listened to what he had to say. "Gullwings! Round up! It's strategy time!"

_Round up_? I though as I blinked a moment. What, did he think were horses or something? Round up??

Ignoring his words, I led the way to the elevator as we descended to the hallway leading to the bridge. Entering the bridge itself, we noticed Adam, Ethan and Brother all standing in a semi circle with looks of thought on their faces.

Looking at me directly, Ethan began the discussion with a concerned look on his face. "We know Vegnagun is in the deepest reaches of the Farplane. The only way in is to jump into one of those holes."

Adam cut in at this point, looking totally lost. "Yeah, but which one?"

Thinking for a moment, I tried to remember each place I saw one of those holes. "There's one in Besaid, one in Kilika, and one in Djose." Not to mention, the ones in the lost temples that held the Aeons I _didn't_ get on my journey.

Cassie nodded and frowned. "Don't forget the one in the Calm Lands. The cave at the bottom of the Gorge."

"And the hole that Vegnagun opened up under Bevelle." Ethan finished with a frown. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gave me a sheepish look before going over to his station and bringing back two red spheres. "I almost forgot. Rocky contacted us earlier and gave us these. Said some guards found them under Bevelle someplace, and gave them to them, thinking they were useless junk." He explained as he handed them over.

"That's nice." Brother said with disinterest as I put them away for the time being.

"So…" Dustin looked at us all uncertainly and shrugged, stating that he was totally lost.

So Blake picked up for him. "So, which hole do we jump into?"

"Who cares?" Brother demanded as he hopped back into his seat. "We just pick a hole and dive! Tori! You can chose the hole!" he ordered before turning to his console.

_Gee…thanks_. I thought sarcastically.

"Well…for now, I think we should take a little break." Yawning, I raised an eyebrow to explain. "I dunno about the rest of you, but I'm beat!" Waving to them, I headed out of the bridge and took the elevator to the cabin where I laid down for a brief rest. I knew now wasn't the best time, but how could we stop Zhane and destroy Vegnagun when I'm about to pass out on my feet?

When I eventually woke up, I got out of the bed quietly and noticed by the small clock by my bed, that a couple of hours had passed. Making my way to the stairs, I froze when I heard voices and found myself crouching down to listen, though why, I didn't know. I knew I was eavesdropping and I knew it was wrong, but recognizing Brother's voice, I found myself listening anyways.

"What…what should I do?"

Peeking down the stairs, I noticed Brother sitting at the bar with a sad look on his face and a bottle of Spiran wine next to him as he spoke to Barkeep.

"If yoo love her, tell her how yoo feel, yesh?" Barkeep offered as he cleaned a glass.

Shaking his head, Brother sighed. "No! I have said too much." He said with a stern look.

"Mish Toori turns her back on yoo?" Barkeep inquired with a confused look.

Sighing again, Brother shrugged a little. "Maybe it is better that way. I…I like Tori's back."

"She hash nice backshide, yesh?"

Nodding slowly he let his head sag. "Yeah." Then, he seemed to realize what he said and shook his head violently. "I mean, no! No, no! These past two years, Tori has always been looking ahead…into the distance. Always, her back is to me."

I frowned and felt a little bad. Did I really seem like that? Did I hurt him? For all his flirting, he was still a good guy and I didn't really want to hurt him like that.

"I like this Tori. Even more than a Tori that is facing me. E muja ran (I love her)" he said sadly as he took another drink.

Blinking a moment, my eyes went wide and I felt my face heat up when he said that. I knew he meant it more than in the family sense, and it made me feel a little weird, but I also knew he didn't mean for it to be that way. As much as he may have loved me, I couldn't love him back. Not only was it wrong, but I love Blake.

"The heart of a man ish compaplicated." Barkeep said wisely as he put down the glass he was cleaning.

"You know what I say?" Brother declared as he stood up. "We two are born bachelors, yes?"

Barkeep shook his head sadly and sighed. "Shpeak for yoorshelf, shunny." He said as he pointed to a door and a female hypello came walking in.

"Hi, shweetie." The female hypello greeted in a warm tone as she hugged Barkeep. Turning to Brother, she waved.

Nodding slightly to her, Brother watched in shock, the two hypello.

"This ish my Darling, yesh."

"Wha…?" Shaking his head, Brother gaped at the two in love hypellos. "When?"

"It ish the deshign of deshtiny." Darling offered with a small shrug.

I giggled silently at how cute she was. Poor Brother, I felt a little bad, but it was nice to at least see Barkeep find love.

"We in love at firsht shight." Barkeep admitted.

"Oh, shtop!" Darling giggled as she hugged Barkeep.

"Ynkr, E lyr'd dyga ed (Argh, I can't take it.)" Brother mumbled to himself as he left the cabin.

Shaking my head, I walked down the stairs and waved with a smile to Barkeep and darling, before taking the elevator to the engine room. Whatever the reason, I wasn't _quite_ ready to go to the bridge and, well….jump into the Farplane.

Standing by the engine, I stared at the giant machina, before going over to the treasure chests and opening them to find some rather common items which I placed in my pouch. Turning to leave, I was surprised to find Adam walking over with a small smile.

"Better keep your distance." he warned with a warm smile. "Wouldn't wanna lose a finger or something." Looking at the engine, he smiled and nodded to himself with a proud look. "Hm, that's my baby." he said fondly.

Giggling, I shook my head and raised an eyebrow at him. "It's like you're talking about a person."

"Of course!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "After all, the ship is one of the Gullwings, too."

"She's been around longer than me, huh?" I asked with a fond smile as I once again looked at the engine.

"Me and her met for the first time, not long after you brought us this calm of yours." he said as his eyes glazed over and he seemed to reminisce. "I'd caught word that an old airship was at the bottom of the sea way in the north. Me and Brother made our way through a sea of ice. A fog moved in, so thick we couldn't tell west from east."

By now, we were both sitting cross legged on the ground as I listened to the story of how the Celsius came to be around.

"On top of that, we were freezing our blitzballs off. Yep, I thought we were done for. Then it appeared above us, a single gull flying along out of nowhere." Chuckling a little, he shook his head at the distant memory. "As if it had come to save us, right? We didn't have a lot of options, so me and Brother chased after that gull with everything we had left. And by some stroke of luck, we found this airship nestled within the ice. Along with our winged rescuer."

I blinked for a moment before raising an eyebrow and biting back the urge to giggle. I knew he wasn't lying, that that this was a very serious story for him, but it was kind of funny to listen to. "Oh!" I thought I got it now. "So that's why we're the Gullwings?"

"And that's not all." He said as he raised his hand.

I nodded and settled down. "Yeah?"

He opened his mouth to say something, when he suddenly just closed it and shook his head with a slightly disturbed look on his face. "Actually, never mind." He said with a sheepish grin.

Now I _really_ wanted to know and leaned forward a bit with a pout. "Adam! Please?" I begged.

He sighed and nodded slowly, a slight grimace on his face. "We were lucky to find the airship, but we were still on thin ice, so to speak. See, we had nothing to eat. We were nearly dead from hunger. Yep, I thought we were done for. (Yes, he actually repeats this part) Then, it appeared above us, a single gull flying along out of nowhere. As if it had come to save us, right? With the very last of our strength, we bagged that bird, and, uhh…."

"Adam." I cut him of there, feeling utterly disturbed and disgusted. When he turned to me, I shook my head slowly and managed to give him a weak smile. "Thanks. I think…I've heard enough."

"That bad?" he asked with a sheepish grin. Sighing, he nodded and stood up to leave. "That bad, huh?"

He agreed not to speak of it again, and we walked to the elevator to head up to the bridge. Once we were there, he went straight to his seat and began typing as I walked over to the others.

After a few minutes, we went over collectively and waited to see what Adam or Brother would have for us. As if sensing us, Adam turned in his seat and gave a huge grin before turning back.

"We got a message from Besaid a little while ago. Looks like Kelly and Skyla finally had their babies."

"Really?" Dustin cried excitedly as he turned to us with a huge grin.

I felt the corner of my lips turn up before I was smiling fully and brought my fists in front of me as I jumped a bit and bounced over to Dustin. "Let's go see them!" I cried with a giggle as I turned back to the others.

I noticed Blake had a far away look in his eyes and a small smile. I had a pretty good idea what he was thinking of and walked over to hug him tightly, making him jump a little in surprise.

"There's a message from Kilika too. Apparently things are getting a little messy."

Heaving a big sigh, I turned around and clasped my hands behind my back as I shook my head, frowning. "More bickering."

Chuckling dryly, Adam nodded. "Sort of. Now it seems like they're bickering over the fact that all the bickering's stopped."

"Figures." Cassie mumbled, just loud enough for us to hear.

So I guess we had our plan now. We weren't ready to jump into the hole just yet, and there were places Spira was still falling apart. For now, we'd travel Spira one more time, trying to fix what we could, and when we were done… That's when we'd face Zhane and Vegnagun.

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So, a shorter chapter, but I needed to cut it off there….

I hope you liked it.

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_Now, it's time to get revenge on those power punks…_

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R+R please. All comments are welcome, even con-crit.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	37. Interlude 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

**Note** : This is my second interlude, going into more about what's happening on earth. Also, the evil that was mentioned in the previous Interlude will be revealed.

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It had been two weeks since the other Rangers found out about Blake being gone. Despite their worries, they had too much to do, to sit back and think about their loss. Instead, they moved on, doing their jobs, but never once did they stop praying for the return of their Blue and Navy Rangers.

Today, the Thunder Academy had allowed two Senseis and a student to temporary visit the Wind Academy. Mostly, because Sensei Amino knew Hunter's feelings on his loss, and that he needed to be close to his friends.

He allowed Leanne to go, because she requested it, but he had a feeling it had something to do with a certain former Samurai Ranger. And he allowed Kelly to go, to be with the man she loved.

So today, Hunter, Kelly and Leanne were just arriving at the Wind Academy for the day. As they walked through the portal to the hidden school, they weren't very surprised to see their five friends waiting for them.

Cam stood in his Sensei's robes. The black leather shined in the sunlight, and the green trim seemed somehow brighter out here, making him blend a little better with the woods around them. His face was drawn and pale, and a look of worry seemed etched into his eyes, but he managed to force a smile to their guests as they approached.

Setting eyes on Leanne, his expression lightened a bit, and he allowed his shoulder to sink a little. She looked as lovely as ever, her shoulder length auburn hair shining in the sun and almost floating around her face. Her hazel eyes sparkled with worry and sadness. Her Thunder Sensei garb fit her well, clinging to her curves, and she almost seemed to pick up the pace a bit as they got closer.

Dustin's eyes were red rimmed and his face, like Cam's, was pale and drawn. He also seemed to have lost a little weight since their last encounter, but held himself as strongly as he could. Still, he heaved a sigh and leaned a little against Marah who stood at his side, while absently brushing at his Earth Sensei uniform.

Marah leaned back against him as if to offer her support as she gave a wane smile at the newcomers and waved a little. Looking to Dustin, she moved a little and slipped her arm around his before leaning back, and she looked down as a single tear fell from her eye.

Shane was standing alone, his face pale, but a look of utter determination over his features. He nodded seriously to everyone before turning around and walking away.

No one made much of a fuss over this. Everyone was still hurting about Blake's recent disappearance, and lately, Kapri had not been feeling well. Shane was doing the best he could, but it was beginning to take it's toll on him.

"How's he doing?" Hunter asked quietly after clasping hands with everyone

Shaking his head, Cam sighed as they began their trek back. "Kapri's been getting sick every day for the last three days and he's worried about her." He said simply. He also gave Hunter a meaningful look that said quietly 'And he's worried about Blake and Tori'.

Nodding slowly, Hunter sighed as Kelly moved ahead of him. "Maybe I should go see if she's all right?" she offered with a small smile.

When no one objected, she turned and left, making a brief prayer for the others to come back soon. Walking into the Academy, she got directions to Kapri's room, since she wasn't used to the school, and went searching for her. Finally managing to find her room, she knocked on the door, and wasn't surprised to find Shane inside.

"All right you…" she said firmly. Pointing to the door, she raised an eyebrow. "Out! I'm going to have a talk with Kapri." Before he could even open his mouth, she'd pushed him out of the room and locked the door behind him.

"Sick for the past three days, huh?" she said out loud to herself as she walked to the bathroom. "Pri, it's Kelly." She called slightly, letting the younger girl know she was there. She has a good idea of what was wrong, but needed to talk to her to find out.

Meanwhile, the other Rangers had found a secluded spot to talk. It started out as random chats about different things. Weather, school, training. But soon turned to memories of fighting Lothor, and Blake and Tori.

"Dude, I _still_ can't believe we didn't know that was her!" Dustin cried with a smile, before sighing and letting it fade. They had been reminiscing and talking about the day Tori had decided to try modeling because she had been insulted by the guys calling her a girl-guy.

Unfortunately, it had been a trap, and she was cloned before being sucked into a camera.

"Tor did have her not so bright moments." Hunter offered quietly as he looked at the ground.

"Like when she went surfing by herself because some dudes insulted her?"

Turning their heads, the others noticed Shane walking up with a sad smile. "All because they mentioned she wasn't bad 'for a girl' and laughed." He finished with a sigh.

"Then my bro scolded her for surfing alone." Hunter added with a fond smile and tears building up in his eyes. "And accidentally admitted to liking her."

"Dudes, like, remember that time when Tori took part in this cook-off thing?" Dustin chuckled quietly.

Shane grinned a little more and nodded. "And how Blake and Cam fell under a spell?"

Hunter laughed out loud at that. "I remember Blake telling me he got her a wrench set."

Marah just looked at everyone with an innocent smile and shrugged. "So? Cam got her acne facial wash. A _big_ bottle of it." She said innocently.

Slowly, everyone's heads turned to the blushing Samurai Ranger who managed to glare at the young woman for her comment. Then, everyone began to laugh and he grumbled to himself as his blush deepened. "It's not my fault. I was under a damn spell."

Everyone resumed their talking for a while until Kapri and Kelly came to join them. They seemed secretive about something, but refused to say a word. The rest of the day was spent reminiscing and laughing at their memories before the Thunder Ninja and Senseis had to return to their Academy.

Two years had passed since Tori and Blake disappeared to Spira, but Blake had come back. Two weeks ago, Blake disappeared again, back to Spira to find and possibly be with, Tori. Not a day passed where their friends didn't wish for them back.

(The Next Day)

It seemed like a normal day at the Wind Academy. Dustin and Shane were at their classes and Cam was visiting the Thunder Academy. He didn't leave his reasons for his sudden departure, but everyone knew it had to do with Leanne.

Running through the woods, a flash of red could be seen, before a flash of yellow joined it. They stopped at a low hanging tree branch where a scroll was hanging and looked at each other in confusion.

"Dude, like, did you get called by Sensei too?" Dustin asked as he scratched the back of his head with a frown.

Shane nodded, frowning as well. "Yeah. He said it was important but wouldn't say what it was."

Together, they looked at the scroll before exchanging glances and shrugs, and streaking off in a different direction. Soon, they arrived at a cliff and found their Sensei standing at the top, looking out over the ocean below with a thoughtful frown.

Standing side by side, they remained silent, knowing their Sensei would be able to sense them there.

And indeed, a moment later, he turned to face them, looking grim. "Senseis, I have brought you here for a reason." Taking a deep breath he shook his head slowly. "We are in grave danger. It appears, Lothor has returned."

Dustin and Shane's eyes went wide and they exchanged worried looks.

"But Sensei…" Shane began as he looked at their mentor. "How did you know? Cam's gone to the Thunder Academy-"

"Yes, I am aware. I know because I sensed his evil aura." Sighing heavily, Sensei drew out a small box and opened it to reveal two Wind morphers. "It is time to take up the role as Rangers once again." Sensei said gravelly.

"Like, weren't our powers drained after our last battle with Lothor?" Dustin asked in confusion as he took his morpher.

Shane took his silently but cast a questioning look at their Sensei.

"Yes, that is true. However, Cam managed to regain the powers to these morphers." Nodding slowly, he stared intently at the Rangers. "It is time."

Nodding to each other, Shane and Dustin took a few steps back, standing side by side. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" they cried out in unison as they spun the disks on their morphers, but instead of morphing like they thought, they were each hit with a blast of energy, knocking them down as they cried out in pain.

Sensei Watanabi sneered as he watched them slowly stand back up, and laughed a little. "How are you feeling?" he asked in a mock concerned tone.

"Like I want to destroy something." Shane responded evilly as Dustin sneered right back and clenched his fists in front of him.

Laughing out loud, Sensei Watanabi's form shattered like glass, to reveal Lothor beneath it. "Very good." He replied as he chuckled.

_Now, it's time for my revenge on those power punks for locking me away._

Leading them back to the Academy, the destruction began.

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Ok, now first of all, I do NOT remember hardly anything at all about the DT/NS Ranger team up, and I CANNOT watch it online to remember on this computer. So I apologize, and I realize I probably got a lot wrong. I also apologize, knowing this chapter was boring. I had no inspiration but needed to get it done soon before the end of the Spiran journey that Blake and Tori are on.

I added a little hint of Cam/Leanne. Don't ask me why because I really don't know. LOL.

Anyways, hope you liked this.

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"Ur, ra ec cu lida! (Oh, he is so cute!)"

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	38. Baby Names

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok, sorry for any long updates. I realized that though I can't really update on the other computer I sometimes work on... I do write a heck of a lot better, and tend to get a lot more done when there. So I plan to go back up in a day or two, to get more chapters done.

Meanwhile, here's the next chapter. I just called it Baby Names, because I couldn't think of anything else to call it.

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(Zanarkand)

As we walked to the now abandoned campfire amidst the ruins just on the other end of Mt. Gagazet, I stopped and stared at them, relieved the people were gone, but also feeling a little strange.

"It's finally quieted down, huh?" Dustin asked softly from my side as he gazed out over the nearby ruins of the once great machina city.

Cassie nodded and turned to me with a slight smile. "Well, I guess your secrets are finally safe, Tori."

"Yeah. But… I have to learn to be stronger. Even places full of memories… Even a place like this, can't last forever." I said sadly, gazing into the dying embers. _Even if I wanted it to._

"You want to not care?" Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow.

_Sometimes…_ "That's not what I'm saying." I tried to defend myself.

Shaking his head, Dustin leaned against my shoulder and gave me a small smile. "Just be yourself." He said wisely with a small, warm smile.

"I guess…" I muttered reluctantly. Shaking my head, I nodded firmly. "You're right."

_Perhaps one day, I'll find something more precious… No. I already have._

Glancing at Blake, I smiled fondly. My love… No, _our_ love, was much more precious to me than memories. Besides, it wasn't like they'd just fade away. Still…

_I want to protect this place. The monkeys can't do it alone._

Thinking of the monkeys, I giggled quietly as I watched random little fur balls running all over the place. I think we did our job well.

"Do you see something?" Cassie asked with a puzzled face as I stared at a passing couple of monkeys.

_Besides the hoards of monkeys?_ "Maybe." I answered slyly as I turned and walked out of the ruins, heading to the teleport sphere to take us back to the airship.

(Besaid)

I lead the way as we raced into the village. I was so excited to see Kelly and Skyla's babies. Apparently, they had been born within an hour of each other and were really cute. Or so Shane kept saying.

As I stopped in the center of the town, I looked around, wondering if they were in their huts, or at the temple.

"Hey!"

Spinning around in surprise, I noticed Shane running from the temple and grinning like an idiot. All I could do was smile back, trying to fight off my giggles as he ran right up to us.

"They're boys!" he cried excitedly. "Wanna meet them?"

I don't think I'd ever seen so much happiness in his eyes as I did at this moment. "Yeah!" I cried back, easily matching his excitement.

Pointing to the temple, I didn't even bother to wait for the others as I raced forward. As I neared the door, I could easily make out Skyla in the shadows, holding a red wrapped bundle in her arms, and beside her stood Kelly with a similar bundle, only hers was crimson wrapped.

Taking in the newborn members to my friends' families, I couldn't help but giggle as I held my hand out and let Kelly's baby grasp my finger in it's tiny little hand. Kelly's little one had fair skin with a tiny tuft of strawberry blonde hair on the top of it's head and blue eyes, and Skyla's was tanned with dark brown, curly hair and deep brown eyes.

"Ur, ra ec cu lida! (Oh, he is so cute!)" I cried in Al Bhed as I looked down at the tiny infants. Turning to Skyla's little one, I held my other hand out to him as he grasped my finger strongly. "Look at his hands! They're so tiny!" I giggled.

"What do you think? He's cute, ya? Good thing he don't look like me."

Turning my head, I saw Shane scratching the back of his head nervously and giggled again. "Don't be silly!" I said with a mock frown.

Dustin nodded and chuckled a little. "See?" he said as he pointed to Skyla's baby's face. "He's got your mouth."

"You think so?" Shane asked hesitantly.

A chuckle was heard from the door of the temple and we all spun to find Hunter coming out, the same happiness radiating from his eyes. "Since when have you known Dustin to say something he didn't mean?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking my head, I sighed and looked at the babies fondly. "What're their names?"

Nodding to us, Hunter turned to Blake and looked a little sheepish. "Blake." he said simply.

Turning to the black mage, Blake smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah?"

Chuckling again, Hunter shook his head as Kelly giggled. "No, his name's Blake. In honor of, well..." he trailed off as a light blush came over his face, and if I didn't know better, I'd swear Hunter was embarrassed.

"You're the first one to be so much like a brother to Hunter." Kelly said with a warm smile. "Even though he told us you're not from this world. We named our son Blake in honor of Hunter's adopted little brother."

I noticed Blake flinch the tiniest little bit at the mentioning, obviously remembering his _real_ adopted brother, but otherwise, he remained smiling. "That's..." He shook his head and scratched the back of his neck nervously, and I giggled at him before moving to hug Hunter.

"I think he means to say, it's really sweet and kind." I giggled out as I released Hunter and gave Kelly a careful hug next before moving to Skyla and then Shane.

"Yeah." Blake chuckled a little and looked down at the baby, his nervous grin turning into a warm smile. "He's beautiful." he breathed as he stared in awe at the tiny baby.

Turning to Shane, I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he never mentioned anything about a name and cleared my throat to get his attention. "And your baby?"

Skyla chuckled and shook her head, her own eyebrow raised as she regarded her husband. "I think the Calm will end before Shane makes up his mind." she put in dryly.

Biting back a wince as I remembered Vegnagun, I looked carefully to the baby. "Well, you better decide soon." I muttered before blinking and offering a forced grin to the others. I really didn't want them knowing just how much danger Spira was in at the moment.

"No rushing, ya?" Shane frowned a little, though the amusement shone brightly in his eyes. "Naming my son is my first important decision as a parent. Becoming a father requires intense emotional training, ya?"

Staring at him in confusion, I wondered if he hit his head or something. For a moment there, he almost sounded more like Cam then himself. Well, besides the 'ya's he liked to use.

Dustin raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared intently at Shane. "How long do you plan on preparing?"

"Until, uh..." Scratching the back of his head, he sighed heavily. "Until my preparations are done, ya?" he offered uncertainly.

Poor Shane. I realized just how confused and nervous he was about being a father, and I felt kind of bad for him. He never had a role model to go by, so everything he was trying to decide, he was doing it on his own.

Deciding to go to the beach, as we heard that Sky was leaving soon, we told the others we'd meet them back here after, and left the village. It didn't take long to make it to the golden sands of Besaid beach, and we walked along until we came to the docks.

Looking up at the boat that was docked there, I saw a brief, faint flash of the day I first left Besaid to begin my pilgrimage. I saw the numerous people who had come to see me off, and the S. S. Liki, our boat that took us to Kilika. Blinking for a moment, the image faded, and I instead saw Sky standing on the dock with a slightly warmer look on his face as he gazed out at us.

Walking up to him, I nodded as he sighed.

"Has Shane decided on a name for his son yet?" he asked with a small smirk.

Shaking my head, it was my turn to let out a sigh. "No, not yet."

"He never could make up his mind." he said dryly before turning away. He took a step forward before pausing and sighing again as he turned back around to face us. Digging in the pouch at his waist, he pulled out an orange sphere and looked at it intently a moment. "I have something here. I'd like you to give it to him." he said softly as he handed over the sphere. "It's a memory of a war buddy. I'd give it to him myself, but... You understand." he said with difficulty.

Actually, I don't think I did, but nodded as I accepted the sphere anyways. I wondered if Sky really hated Shane, or is it was disappointment, or possibly...something else. I think... He had a strange sense of respect for Shane, but wouldn't admit it.

"All aboard! We'll be settin' sail shortly!" a crew member of the ship called out before boarding once again.

Turning his head, Sky nodded slowly. "See he get's it." he said quietly before turning to leave.

This time, when he stopped again, it was because a blue and white blitzball had landed at his feet. Looking down at it a moment, his attention, along with all ours, was drawn to farther down the beach to where the Aurochs were standing, looking sheepish and worried at having been caught playing a game.

"Sorry!" Keepa shouted with a wave.

Grunting a little, Sky turned and kicked the ball in front of him as he walked a little ways out onto the beach. Stopping for a moment, he suddenly kicked it high into the air, before doing a flip and kicking it right towards them, hitting Keepa in the stomach and knocking him down.

"Whoa!" Keepa cried as he went flying.

"Practice harder!" Sky ordered as he turned to the docks again.

"Hey!"

"Next time we meet, let's blitz, ya?" Jassu called with an awed look.

Datto nodded furiously. "Show us that move again sometime!"

Chuckling a bit, Sky shook his head as he stared at the dock. "Slackers to the very end." With a brisk wave, he boarded the ship and it shortly set sail.

Walking back along the path to Besaid, I was a little surprised to find Shane pacing on the top of the hill that overlooked the village, a look of confusion on his face. When he heard us approaching, he stopped his pacing and gave us all a sheepish wave.

"What's the matter?" I asked, ignoring the greeting and focusing right on his troubled expression.

Shrugging a little, he looked towards the path to the beach. "I thought I'd say goodbye to Sky."

"He's...already left." I said hesitantly, watching as his face fell.

He nodded slowly and looked at the ground. "Oh." came his obviously disappointed reply.

Nodding back, I suddenly remembered the sphere in my pouch and dug it out with a small smile. If nothing else, maybe this would help cheer him up a bit. "He gave me this sphere..." I said as I held it out.

Looking up in surprise, he took in my position and raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he slowly accepted it. "For me?" Brightening a little, he looked at all of us, before nodding. "Hey, let's watch it!"

Playing the sphere, the image of a man that looked to be similar to Shane's age was shown, by the very same monument that we were currently standing by. If I hadn't known that this sphere was at least two years old, I would've thought they were twins, except for the man's shorter, neater styled hair.

"Hey, Shane, remember that time..." Shaking his head, Porter grinned a little. "Nah, you prob'ly forgot. Somethin' I told you back when we were kids, ya? 'There's a sphere on the island', I said. 'Showin' mom and dad'." Sighing a little, he looked down sadly. "I lied. Truth is, there's no such sphere."

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Shane and the others a moment, noting how their attention was fixated solely on the sphere. _Would've been nice to know that before._ I thought darkly, remembering our journey to find this 'special' sphere and the danger we went through, only to end up with a sphere that showed clips of Besaid.

"I'm sorry. Back then, you'd lecture me no matter what I did. 'Someone has to keep you in line, ya?'. I guess I was kinda bitter. That's why I made up that story of the sphere."

Suddenly, Shane's voice could be heard calling to Porter, and the said man grimaced a bit as he turned his head.

"If you got time to take pictures, you got time to pray! Especially since you're joining the Crusaders!"

Frowning, Porter turned back to the sphere and heaved a heavy sigh. "Enough with the preaching!" he called, speaking both to the sphere and to the Shane in it.

"Someone has to keep you in line, with our parents not around." the video's Shane called back.

Porter's eyes grew sad as he gazed sincerely into the camera. "Knock it off with the surrogate parent thing, and give us both a break!" he hissed quietly, now speaking only to the sphere. "I just need to you be my brother."

I felt tears well up into my eyes as he turned from the screen and it faded to black. It was painful knowing that now that Shane finally knew the truth, and how Porter felt, it was too late to change anything. Porter was long gone now, and there were no words that could change that.

Shane sighed heavily and handed me back the sphere as he looked a little sad and very thoughtful. "A brother, ya? I don't know why he just couldn't come out and say it."

_Because he still loved you and was afraid of hurting your feelings._ I thought as I stared at him silently.

Shaking his head, he grinned a little and nodded back towards the village. "Anyways... You guys stay in the village until night fall, at least, ya?"

As we made our way down the hill to Besaid village, I stayed quiet as I thought on everything that happened.

(Besaid at Night)

_That night, Shane gathered everyone in the village around the campfire_

We were all seated around the campfire. The Aurochs were seated in a group, Kelly and Skyla were standing on each side of Shane, and Hunter was standing beside Kelly with his arm around her waist and a warm smile towards his newborn son, Blake. Our little group was seated next to them, and we all watched intently wondering what he had to say.

"Well, you probably already know why I called you all here, ya?" he said as he grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head nervously.

Nodding to myself, I had to admit that I had an idea, but I didn't want to say what just yet.

"I'd like to introduce the newest member of Besaid village." he said as he gestured to his yet-to-be-named son.

The Aurochs laughed, and Datto shook his head. "We already met him." he reminded the new father.

"You pick a name yet?" Botta asked with a grin.

Jassu laughed with the others and gave a brief look of mock horror. "Don't tell me this is a brainstorming session!"

Making a face at him, Shane chuckled and shook his head. "Like I'd do somethin' like that!"

_Uhh actually... You would._ I thought with a raised eyebrow and slight grin.

"I chose a name!" Looking to his son, his eyes teared up a little and he nodded firmly before turning back to the rest of us. "His name's Porter, ya? In honor of my big brother. Take good care of him, everyone."

Sitting down next to us while everyone got up and began cooing over the two newborns, Shane sighed and shrugged a little.

"Congrats." I said, smiling warmly at him, as I leaned back into Blake's embrace.

"I always try to cram myself into some kinda mold, you know? A blitzer, or a Guardian, or a follower of Yevon... And now, a father. I always get so wound up about what I should be." Looking around, a strange kind of peace settled over his features. "But you know, in the end, I'm still me. Anyway, I can't be coming up with new Shane's all the time, eh? So it looks like I'll just have to start doing things my way."

Looking to my, he nodded with a smile. "That's the way I'll write our story."

Giggling, I offered him a nod. "Hang in there, dad." I teased a little, though I knew my eyes were sincere.

He smirked a bit before shuddering and turning a little green, his smile fading. "Sin was nothin' compared to diaper changing, ya?"

We all busted up laughing as he got up and walked a little ways away to speak to Skyla alone, as many of the villagers headed to their huts for the night. I'm sure they meant to speak privately, but in the quiet of the night, seeing as how Hunter and Kelly had gone to bed as well, we could hear their every word.

"Hey. Sorry it took me so long to decide on a name, Sky." he said as he rubbed the back of his head and smiled down at his son.

"It's all right. I knew it would be worth the wait." Skyla told him with a smile as she gently bounced the baby in her arms. "I had faith."

He blinked, seemingly surprised by her words and looked to the ground a little. He might have been blushing, but it was too dark out to tell. "You...had faith...in me?" he asked hesitantly.

She nodded, her smile never leaving her face. "Shane, we're in this together. Whether you see it or not, I really do rely on you." she said sincerely.

Chuckling a little, he nodded. "Guess I'd better not drop the ball, ya?"

"You won't." she replied surely.

Giggling quietly at their antics, we all stood up as I watched them fondly.

"They're in their own little world." Dustin said with a small smile.

"Come on." Cassie said quietly as she gestures with her head to the entrance to the village.

Nodding in agreement, I took Blake's hand and began for the exit. "Let's not bother them." I added quietly as we left Besaid.

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Thinking about it... I have a few chapters in this fics that I really love (Aka, the monkey breeding chapter, moonflow fluff bit, Lady Luck bit, and the first Interlude)... But in the end, I MUCH prefer my first one. But yeah, I'm finishing this one for my reviewers.

Hope you like it...

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"Don't interrupt! I've been practicing these lines for days, so be quiet and let me finish!"

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R+R please. All comment, even con-crit, is much appreciated.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	39. Reuniting Kilika and Luca Memories

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Well, I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but I think I have between 10 to 15 chapters to go before the end of this fic. This is just a guess, mind you, so… Anyways…

I'm glad you like my fic. J

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(Kilika)

Out next stop was Kilika. Last time we were here, things were pretty bad between the New Yevon and Youth League members, making the villagers suffer for it. I was a bit worried about what I'd find, but walking through the almost abandoned village, I didn't know whether or not my worries were justified.

It seems though, as we neared the gate to the forest, that things were still pretty tense.

They weren't as bad as they were before, but the large group of people around the two Youth League guards, was a little unnerving.

"Let me go to the temple! I wanna see my sister!" a young boy cried as he jumped up and down, glaring at the one guard that still seemed defiant.

Out of the two of them, one looked absolutely lost as to what to do, and the other looked uncertain, but was sticking to the orders he was given before all this chaos began.

"This road is closed!" he said sternly, though his eyes looked nervous. "I can't let you through!"

"What's wrong with wanting to see our families?" a man demanded angrily.

"But..." he hesitated before shaking his head. "Without orders, I can't let you through!" he insisted, though it looked like his will was beginning to crack. In all honesty, he looked like he really agreed with them, but was struggling to remain loyal to his orders.

"My, my, my, my..." Kimberly said with a scowl as she made her way through the crowd of people and approached the guard. Glaring slightly at him, she raised an eyebrow. "Some boys don't know how to behave. Haven't you noticed you're the only one still nitpicking over party politics? New Yevon this, Youth League that... It's called a complex." Shaking her head, she sighed. "Get over it. Weren't you listening to the song?"

Dustin nudged me in the side lightly, and I blushed as a few heads turned in my direction. Even Kimberly looked at me out of the corner of her eyes and winked a little.

"Now let them through." she ordered lightly as she took a step back.

He looked at the switch to open the gate, but still hesitated. "But, without the order..."

She cut him off and raised her hand, now fully glaring at him. "I just gave you an order."

Realizing the wisdom of her words, he nodded quickly and turned to open the gate immediately, a look of relief coming over his face as he did so. "R-Right away!"

As the gate finally swung open, many people began running through with happy, yet slightly worried looks on their faces.

"Sis, I'm coming!" the little boy yelled as he took off, full speed towards the woods that housed Kilika's temple.

Shrugging a little, Dustin turned his head towards me and raised an eyebrow. "Let's check it out." he suggested.

Walking through the now open gate, we made our way through the woods, noting the lack of New Yevon soldiers and barricades. Making it to the temple steps, I noticed many people racing up them and sent a little prayer that hopefully, nothing would go wrong.

Racing up the steps after everyone, we soon found everyone waiting at the main landing and staring in shock and happiness at each other. Many families rushed together to finally be reunited, and some of the priests watched with small smiles on their faces.

"Songs are powerful." Cassie said as she looked out over the sheer relief and happiness that seemed to radiate from everyone.

"I guess everyone felt it." I mused out loud, recalling my experience with the song.

Dustin looked at me with a little confused and cocked his head to the side. "What you felt?" he asked softly.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "No, not me. Karone."

"Kimberly!"

Turning our attention back to what was going on around us, we noticed how the two groups seemed to stand off a little, staring at each other. Kimberly was standing in the lead of one group, and Tommy in the lead of the other.

Looking a little nervous, Kimberly seemed to struggle to get her composer back. "Hmph. Well, I..." Blinking a moment, she cleared her throat and let her cool facade fall back into place. "It seems to me, you have forgotten who it is you are supposed to be protecting. I ought to fire you for just up and leaving the way you di-"

"Kimberly!" Tommy cried again, cutting her off. He looked a little worried, but also so very happy to see her.

"Don't interrupt! I've been practicing these lines for days, so be quiet and listen!" she scowled fiercely.

That comment caused everyone to laugh as Kimberly turned and deep red and looked around in embarrassment. Tommy, taking her brief moment of distraction, ran over to her and took her hand as he began to speak.

"Kim, please forgive me! I'll apologize to you as much as you want! Don't say I can't be your Guardian anymore! I'll never leave your side again!" he pleaded almost desperately.

She turned an even deeper shade of red as everyone began to coo and 'aww' around them.

Even I couldn't help but make a comment. His devotion to her was so amazing. "That's so sweet!"

"Shut up!" she cried to everyone before turning to Tommy. Her face was set in a scowl, but I knew she was really touched by his devotion, even if she wouldn't admit it. "You're making such a scene! How humiliating" she groaned as she shook her head. "Don't think that you're off the hook for embarrassing me like this. You'll be making this up to me for the rest of your life."

"Kim." He murmured with a nod and smile.

Walking closer to him, she nodded and turned to face the bottom of the stairs. "Tommy, we're leaving!" she said as she began down the stairs, the said man following her happily.

A few minutes after they left, balloons began to float through the air from the village before, filling the sky. Some even exploded high above us, to release tons of glitter down on the people below. It was a full out celebration, and was truly amazing to watch.

"Wow…" I said as I grabbed Blake's hand and leaned into him.

Dustin nodded as he looked into the sky. "It's so pretty." He murmured quietly.

Suddenly, the Celsius flew through the air to hover above us, and our coms activated.

"Hey, what's with all the balloons?" Adam was asking curiously.

"Ooh! A Gullwing welcome bash?" Brother's voice cheered excitedly. "Party!"

Making a face, Dustin raised an eyebrow and turned to me before sighing and shaking his head. "Dryd guccat dra suut. (That killed the mood.)" he said dryly as he gestured down to the teleport sphere and we headed back to the ship.

(Luca)

As we walked through the ever bustling city of Luca, Ashley had come up to us, informing us that it was blitzball season. I was torn between leaving the city as fast as I could, and staying to unwind a little.

You see, because Skyla and Kelly's babies had been born, the Aurochs weren't participating this year. Know what that means? They asked us to fill their place.

Yeah… I can totally see myself playing blitzball. Note my sarcasm??

Well, ok, I'll admit I know _how_ to play the game, and I can hold my breath long enough, but it really seemed…like a waste of time at the moment. Shane and the Aurochs didn't care if we brought back the Crystal Cup, and to be honest, we just plain didn't have the time to sit around and play games.

And we didn't even have the full number of players. There had to be six players on each team, and Blake couldn't play, and neither could Ethan, leaving us with five.

So instead, we passed by that option and made our way to the north exit, to the Mi'ihen Highroad.

But at the top of the stairs, I remembered when we had been about to leave Luca, two years ago, and Cam had shown up, asking to be my Guardian, and insisting Blake come along.

Stopping at the lamp post by the exit, I looked out over the street below and closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. Bringing my hand to my lips, I let out a shrill whistle that echoed through the city and smiled a little as it faded. "I practiced." I said softly.

"I can see that."

Turning my head, my smile only grew to see Blake standing beside me. He raised his own hand and let out a similar whistle before smiling at me. "You got good."

My vision blurred slightly and I found myself vividly in my memories. I saw Blake walking up beside me and I whistled for him, showing him I'd finally managed to get it. Two years ago, he was able to make me smile so easily. We had no idea the troubles we were going to face.

**Flashback**

I grabbed Blake's hand lightly in my excitement and tugged him after me. "Hey! Come with me!"

We walked over to a lamp post by the railing of the ledge we were standing on. Looking at him, I grinned triumphantly, figuring he'd at least be impressed by what I was about to show him. "Watch!" I cheered, struggling not to giggle. Putting my hands to my lips, I whistled loud, and he jumped a little in surprise at how quickly I got it.

"You got pretty good." he mumbled absently, seemingly thinking back over something that was obviously bothering him.

I leaned against him slightly, causing him to look at me. "You sound confused." I muttered seriously, worrying about what could be so big as to make him this troubled.

Shrugging slightly, he offered me a weak, obviously forced smile. "Maybe a little."

"Wanna scream?" I asked with a mischievous look on my eyes.

Shaking his head, there were too many people, which seemed to bother him. "Not really." Sighing, he crossed his arms and lowered his head. "I really don't think that's gonna help me this time."

He looked at me, as if begging me to understand, but I just gave him a sad smile and turned back out to look at the people below. "You know what?"

He kept his eyes on me, urging me to continue, giving me his undivided attention as I spoke.

"It's embarrassing for me to say this myself...but Summoners and their Guardians are kind of like Spira's ray of light. A lot of people in Spira depend on us. I learned to practice smiling when I was feeling sad, you know? I know, it's hard."

**End Flashback**

_Wherever I go, Spira is full of places tied to my memories._

Blinking a bit, my vision cleared, and I noticed Blake looking out over the people below us, a small smile on his face and a faraway look in his eyes as he too seemed to reminisce.

_Memories of my journey. Memories of you._

I giggled softly as I turned back to the street below, and let out a silent gasp as my eyes widened. There, at my feet, was a small moogle, floating in the air with pyreflies floating around it's tiny white body. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

I looked over to where Blake stood, seeing Cassie and Dustin walk up and blinked in surprise and confusion as I looked back to the tiny moogle as it floated higher in front of me, making a little squeaking sound. "But it's…" I turned to look at them, and noticed them looking around in confusion. "You can't see it?"

Shaking their heads, they all gave me looks of worry.

"See what?" Dustin asked curiously.

Cassie looked past me and around, but her eyes didn't seem to focus on the little moogle. "You need a break?" she asked as she turned her head back to me.

Turning back to the little moogle, I watched as it floated away down to the street below and felt this unbearable urge to follow it. Spinning to the others, I gave them all a small smile as I ran past them, only to stop and turn back to them. "Wait here!" I called as I ran off.

Running down to the street below, I found the tiny moogle floating by a statue in Luca square and approached it slowly, only to have my vision blur again as another memory hit me.

This one was when Blake and I raced toward the cafeteria, trying to find Cam, who we'd heard was there. Neither of us knew if it was our Cam or not, but we desperately wanted to find him.

**Flashback**

"Whoa! This is a pretty big town!" Blake cried as he looked around him.

Nodding, I watched him. "Luca is the second biggest city in Spira." I said seriously.

He nodded slowly with a frown as he gazed at me intensely. "I thought every town was little, you know, like Besaid and Kilika."

Poor Blake seemed a little confused, and I nodded to agree with him, before tilting my head and looking at the large statue in front of us. "Towns don't usually get much larger then that. Because, when a lot of people begin to gather…" I trailed off, already knowing he'd get what I meant, and I didn't want to speak it's name any more than I really had to. The name always brought shivers of dread up my spine.

Seeming a little exasperated for hearing about _that_ again, he nodded and looked thoughtful. "Sin, right? What about Luca? Is it safe here?"

"It's not any different." I informed him a little hesitantly. "But the stadium's here. The Crusaders fight to protect it with everything they have."

Blake looked about ready to blow a gasket, and I knew what he was thinking. I had the slight urge to laugh, but remembering my journey, and what was supposed to happen at the end of it, and I was immediately sobered.

"They protect the stadium?" he asked incredulously.

I agreed that it sounded very odd, but really… "Blitzball's really the only entertainment we have. Spira's a little short on fun these days." I said sadly. _Not to mention happiness, safety, freedom… I could probably go on and on._

"Whoa! Talk about pressure!" he said with a confused, but at the same time, understanding look.

Really wanting to change the subject, I turned towards the nearby café. "Let's go find Cam." I said with as much determination as I could, trying to hide my sadness.

**End Flashback**

As my vision cleared, the moogle floated a little higher as it turned to face me, and I looked around, noticing how no one seemed to be looking at us at all.

_No one can see it?_

As the moogle floated away, I chased it through Luca, bumping into a few people and calling out hasty apologies as I tried not to lose sight of it. I ran past the sphere theatre, and even the blitz stadium, until I stood at the dock where our boat landed two years ago. Finding the little moogle floating in the center of it, I approached it slowly, already knowing what was going to happen.

**Flashback**

I had been distracted by the arrival of the ever arrogant Luca Goers, but hearing a commotion beside me, I turned to find Blake hopping on top of a crate with a megaphone in his hand. Before anyone could even question what he was doing, he'd raised it to his mouth and began to speak.

"Stop right there Goers!" he called, his voice echoing through the docks.

I felt my face heat up and tried to get his attention to make him stop and come down, but he refused to.

Shaking his head, he glared at the team and sneered behind the megaphone, pulling himself out of the way when Shane tried to grab him and pull him down. "You guys are smilin' right now, but not for long! 'Cause this year, the Aurochs are taking the cup!"

With that said, he jumped down from the crate, leaving the megaphone on it as he joined us, and I was torn between yelling at him in embarrassment and laughing at what he'd just done.

Everyone of our group was staring at him in shock as Shane walked over and shook his head. "What in Yevon's name were you thinking up there?" he demanded.

Datto just laughed and shook his head as he clapped one of the other Aurochs on the shoulder. "We sure stood out though."

To be honest, at that point, I was a little glad for a distraction, but at the same time, wasn't to pleased for all the unwanted attention.

Letty nodded in agreement. "We were on the sphere!"

Datto turned to him and his eyes went wide. "We were?" he asked excitedly.

Suddenly, our attention went to three people who ran by almost squealing in excitement.

"Maester Mika is here!" one man cried with a grin as he ran off.

The only woman in the group gasped excitedly and turned to him with an awed look on her face. "Already?"

"The number 3 dock!" the last person in their group yelled as they rounded a corner and disappeared.

I was excited about the prospect f a famous Maester being here, and also a little nervous. I was still getting used to being in this body and world, but I could feel Spiran Tori's excitement. Still… With what I had learned, I was more worried than anything. I knew what was about to happen and _wasn't _looking forward to it at all!

**End Flashback**

_These are our memories. Yours and mine._

Looking to the tiny moogle that floated in front of me, I offered a small smile, though my heart was pounding wildly. "Maybe I'm confused, but…It's ok." Watching as the little moogle disappeared into a small puff of pyreflies, I heard footsteps coming my way and turned to see the others walking up with confused looks.

"What's with you?" Dustin asked as he was the first to reach my side.

Giggling softly, I looked up into the sky and closed my eyes. "A dream, I think. My heart won't stop pounding." It was true. Seeing those memories so vividly, my heart had been pounding from the first one, whether from happiness of remembering those gone on in Spira, or sadness from the pain of my past journey being revived… Either way, I didn't know.

"That's not a dream." He said with a shake of his head. Being fully serious, he seemed to think deeply on what I said. "Not if your heart's pounding like that. You and someone you care about are connected somehow. That's what it is."

Thinking about what he said, I knew he was right.

"How worldly." Cassie quipped with a grin.

Shrugging a little, he raised a hand and pointed his index finger towards the sky while grinning back. "I've felt that way too." he said as he laughed a little.

"About who?" she shot back with a raised eyebrow.

I had a good idea, but didn't plan on getting involved. Besides, I thought it was pretty obvious.

Shaking his head, he turned his back on her before looking at her over his shoulder. "I dunno." he teased.

Folding her arms across her chest, Cassie tilted her head a little and smirked. "Spill." she ordered.

Laughing again, he danced a few steps away and shook his head again. "Maybe we can trade secrets." he offered with a sly grin.

Chuckling quietly, she tilted her head and seemed to think about it. "Hm. You drive a hard bargain."

I giggled as I watched them, leaning against Blake's shoulder as he stood beside me.

_I guess everyone's like this. We cling to our secrets, our doubts, our memories… We're never able to put them aside. Even though they confuse us, there are some things that can only be found in that confusion. I think… It's ok to feel that way._

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Well, it's not one of my favorites, but I kinda like this chapter. I hope you did too…

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"I'm am glad you are all here."

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Sorry about the quote above, but I couldn't really find a good one. --' The next chapter is going to be a pain for me, but I'll get it done and over with so I can continue the story.

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	40. Mi'ihen Investigation

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything

**Note** : Ok, this chapter is a lot shorter because the next part is longer and if I put it all together, you'd have one REALLY long chapter. Plus, I just wanted to have the next chapter be on it's own (shrugs sheepishly). I don't care for this one and many of you probably won't either, but I think you will definitely like the next. (Grins evilly)

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(Mi'ihen Highroad)

As soon as we set foot on Mi'ihen Highroad, a young woman came running up to us, bowing hastily as she panted.

"Our proprietor, Andros, is presenting the results of his investigation into the Highroad's troubles of late. Would you mind accompanying me to the travel agency?" she asked kindly.

Nodding, I began to follow her as she walked on. "Not at all."

We walked along the abandoned road to the Travel Agency where Andros stood with a few people, including Justin, and a machina with a large cage attached to it. But the cage had been covered, so even though we could hear the angry growls of a fiend inside, we couldn't see what it was.

Once we arrived and took our places, Andros began his explanation. He spoke about the mysterious events that surrounded the hover crash and the rampaging machina, and how his investigation led to finding marks on them that seemed like fiend marks. Apparently, the hover had been attacked with inhuman force, knocking it off the road, and the hover driver had told him of seeing a beast.

"It is clear our guilty party wanted to rid the Highroad of it's machina." Turning to me, he nodded his head ever so slightly. "Lady Tori, what do you think would happen if the Highroad no longer had any machina?"

Thinking about it a moment, I turned my gaze to the cage. "We would probably need chocobos instead." _Either that or walk, but a lot of people don't like to walk now-a-days._

"That is correct. Travelers would use chocobos instead of hovers. It all boils down to this, The culprit's objective, obviously, was to bring chocobos back to the Highroad. I recently witnessed a certain party chasing after a gull. This was no playful pursuit, but rather, a sincere hunt for food by a starving creature. Hungry, it tried to devour it's prey."

Turning his gaze to the cage, he nodded and a couple Al Bhed removed the tarp over the cage to reveal a rather unhappy chocobo eater inside, glaring and growling at the people standing around. "'It' of course, meaning the fiend which craves chocobos."

Raising an eyebrow, I found it kind of confusing how a fiend could cause so much damage, seeing as they were as smart as your average animal or monster.

"With it's main course gone from the Highroad, the fiend instinctively knew, machina were responsible."

Tilting my head a bit, I realized he was right. Instincts could be pretty powerful, and with the sudden disappearance of chocobos happening at the same time as the appearance of machina, it seemed like a fairly simple connection to make.

"Fiend or not, I admire it greatly for it's tenacious pursuit of it's goals. In honor of that tenacity, I will use all available resources to bring back chocobos to the Highroad." Gesturing to the Al Bhed driver, the machina holding the cage began moving along the road, heading towards the Mushroom Rock exit. "Farewell, my friend." He said with a serious, solemn look. Turning to the rest of us, he sighed. "The chocobos deserve to live without fear of being devoured."

As he said this, a second set of Al Bhed approached with a single tame chocobo and handed the reins to me, which I accepted slowly. "Uh, thanks." I said hesitantly, looking to Andros as he nodded for me to go ahead.

Mounting the chocobo, I began to ride it around, noting immediately, how much happier it seemed as it walked happily down the road and back.

"So, what're you gonna do with it?" Dustin asked Andros, referring to the chocobo eating fiend that had been taken away.

Shrugging a little, Andros kept his attention focused on the chocobo I was riding. "Oui yna paddan uvv hud ghufehk. (You are better off not knowing.)" he said idly.

"Oh…" Dustin seemed to picture what was probably being done and frowned a little before shaking his head and obviously putting it aside forcefully.

Raising an eyebrow, Cassie kept her eye on me as she turned her head to the others. "So, a happy ending for everyone, unless you're a fiend."

"Anywho…" Dustin started with a shrug of disinterest. "Let's get back to the airship."

Suddenly, my chocobo began to run wildly back and forth across the road, and I couldn't get it under control. Panicking a little, I turned my head to the others. "Ooh! Somebody stop this thing!" I called just as I was thrown from the chocobo's back with a startled yelp.

Closing my eyes tightly, I felt weightless as I knew I was falling. I waited for the painful impact of my body on the ground, but to my surprise, I landed in a set of warm arms instead, and immediately opened my eyes to find Blake staring down at me in worry and relief.

"Blake…" I muttered a little shakily as I wrapped my arms around his neck. _H…How'd he get here so fast though?_ Looking beyond him, I noticed Dustin and Cassie looking at us in relief and Andros looking like his eyeballs were about to fall out, his eyes were so wide. Blinking for a moment, I quickly buried my face in Blake's neck as I flushed. _Well that settles it. He streaked._ I thought dryly.

"You ok?" he asked softly as he cradled me even closer to him.

Nodding a little, I bit back a whine as he set me down on my feet, but luckily, he didn't remove his hand from my waist and we walked back to the others, before quickly excusing ourselves from Andros before having to explain how Blake was able to move so fast.

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Anyways, yeah….working on the next chapter. It's definitely going on my top favorites of the chapters I've done so far.

Hope you like it.

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"Don't _make_ me say this again! I'm. Not. Karone!"

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R+R please and let me know?

Thank you.

Tenshi


	41. Mushroom Rock's Den of Woe

**Disclaimer** : Do I really have to say it?

A) I don't own PRNS or FFX-2

B) I don't own PRNS or FFX-2

C) I don't own PRNS or FFX-2

Or

D) All of the above

**Note** : I love this chapter so far. It focuses on the secrets in the Den of Woe. I'm not good at making things creepy or anything, but I sincerely hope you like this chapter as much as I do.

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(Mushroom Rock Road)

As we took the side path that led us both to the Den of Woe and the youth League headquarters, right away, we noticed many Youth League officers walking around, and Alyssa and Taylor came rushing up with smiles.

"Lady Tori!" Alyssa called as she was the first to reach us, panting from her run. "I saw your concert! It was so spectacular! I was so moved!" she gushed excitedly.

Taylor nodded and laughed a little. "Thanks to you, we should be able to resolve our conflicts with New Yevon peacefully." she explained in a much calmer tone.

"The guys who went to the concert have been going around, pushing for a truce." Alyssa added once she calmed down a little.

"That's great!" I cheered with a smile. At least someone got the hint and things already seemed to be doing better for so many people.

Sighing, Taylor shook her head sadly before pushing a stray lock of her blonde hair behind her ear and turning to face some of the soldiers. "Sadly, there are a great many League members who don't know what to do with their energies. It may sound odd, but they're unhappy about losing their chance for a fight."

"They are so ready to blow up." Alyssa added with a grimace, before suddenly perking up. "But Commander Taylor thought of this great idea! Like, what if everyone had a battle tournament?"

"Sounds like an idea." Cassie agreed quietly, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, I hope it's fun." I really wanted to participate, but we still had so much to do.

Nodding to us, Alyssa tried briefly to sway us to joining, but politely refusing, and ignoring Dustin's pleas, we walked past, careful to stay out of the way of the tournament, and took the broken stone rubble down to the ravine path, making our way to the Den of Woe.

As I walked to the door, I pulled out four spheres that we had come to call Crimson spheres and handed three to Cassie and one to Dustin. We called them Crimson Spheres, because of their color, and the fact that they all had to do with the Crimson Squad.

Pulling out four more, I handed two to Dustin and two to Blake, trying to even up the load so no one ended up dropping them. Then, I pulled out the last two and placed them into two of the ten slots on the sealed door. Taking two more, I repeated the process until all ten spheres were in the door, and it glowed brightly before sluggishly sliding to the side.

"Time to face my past." Cassie said with a little fear and uncertainty as she took a step towards the cave. "Come on."

We walked into the cave, and immediately I shivered and frowned at the dark, foreboding presence all around us. Even if I hadn't seen the spheres, or known about the massacre that took place here, I would've quickly guessed that something horrible had happened.

Feeling the cold tingling sensation of dread crawl up my spine, I turned to barely make out my friends in the dark, also looking very disturbed by the cave itself.

We hadn't taken more than a couple of steps into the cave, and already I knew something bad was going to happen. The low moaning cries of the dead, and the large swarms of pyreflies clinging to this place haunted us all as we slowly made our way through it. Then, we had to fight fallen Crimson Squad members, zombies with pyreflies floating in and out of their bodies, and sunken, pale flesh that fell off their bones in places.

They carried machina guns, but were fairly simple to defeat, and whenever we defeated a group of them, the pyreflies flew towards the back of the cave, rather than disappearing.

That in itself was a bad sign.

Boy, did I want to turn around and race out of there as fast as I could, but I refused to be scared off by a bunch of zombies.

"This is…creepy." Blake muttered, making me jump. His voice had been rather quiet, but in the silence of the cave, only occasionally ruptured by a few moans of the dead, his voice seemed to echo, making it seem louder than it really was.

Dustin nodded and rubbed his arms as he hunched a little, looking totally freaked. "Yeah." He said simply, agreeing to Blake's words.

Offering them a shaky smile, I shrugged a little. To be honest, 'creepy' was a major understatement. I could think of a few more words that suited this place. Evil…scary as hell…obviously haunted…scary as hell…dangerous….dreadful, oh, and did I mention scary as hell?

Shivering again, I helped fight off some more zombies as we slowly made our way to the back of the cave.

Then, a loud, evil laughter was heard and I stopped cold as my eyes widened. _Who's there?_ I wanted to ask that out loud, but my throat closed up tightly and I swallowed a few times before licking my suddenly dry lips and looking around nervously.

Feeling a hand touch mine, I jumped and yelped in terror before turning around and seeing Blake looking at me in worry. Giggling nervously, I took his hand and leaned against him as we slowly approached the back of the cave, which looked empty.

But as we were about to learn, looks can be deceiving.

As we stood in the center of the back of the cavern, I sensed an angry presence approaching and felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I shivered and looked around again.

"Something's coming." Dustin whimpered as he too looked around, his eyes wide on his pale face.

Images of Carlos, Marah and T.J. quickly appeared in front of us, looking rather solid, but with pyreflies floating around them. They were each heavily armed and I grew worried as they glared at us with cold, dead eyes.

Frowning, I wondered how they could be here. They should only have been here if they were dead, but… Zhane was inhabiting T.J's body, thus needing him alive, and Marah and Carlos had gone after him, but as far as we knew… They were alive too.

Then, my frown deepened as I recalled that pyreflies could also capture images of people and make them seem rather solid.

"Guys!" Cassie called, her eyes going wide.

I wanted to call that they couldn't be real, but I think she already knew. Once she cried out, their images faded and we all looked around in confusion. Turning to Cassie, I gave her a concerned look. "You ok?" I asked quietly.

"What was that?" she asked shakily as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Are they…" Dustin shuddered and shook his head. "Unsent?" Shaking his head again, he frowned. "No, that can't be right."

_Because, to be unsent, they have to be dead first, and I don't think any of them were dead._ I thought as I looked at the others. "Pyreflies." I said, catching everyone's attention. "I've seen this before. There are places where pyreflies cling to people's memories and make them eternal."

"Those were their memories from back then…preserved by the pyreflies. Memories, or two-year-old nightmares." She shuddered again.

The angry presence we'd felt before began to grow stronger, and suddenly, a shadowy image appeared in front of us, made up of glowing pyreflies. I recognized the image immediately and frowned in worry.

It was Zhane.

But… What was he doing in this cave?

"Older than that." He said angrily.

"Zhane!" I cried.

Cassie blinked for a moment before her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You!"

"I wanted to rest forever." He continued, seemingly ignoring our outbursts. "But the pyreflies make me relive that moment… Again, and again, and again." His voice began to sound almost hysterical. He glared at us all, and I knew he was talking about the moment he and Karone were killed.

All because they were in a war and infiltrated the enemies headquarters.

Disappearing, he reappeared a moment later behind Dustin, wrapping his arms around Dustin's neck as some of the pyreflies entered the terrified Al Bhed's frozen body.

Eyes going wide, Dustin shook his head frantically as he looked around. "No!" he cried in terror, taking a single step back. "Nooooo!" Grabbing his daggers, he took up a defensive stand, glaring at us with haunted, rage-filled eyes.

"Dustin!" I cried, horrified by what just happened.

Cassie shook her head and held me back as she stared at my Al Bhed cousin with worried eyes. "Something's wrong! Stay back!" she called as she moved away.

Then, Zhane's image appeared in front of her, and she tried to strike it with her sword, but it went right through him. While she was off balance, Zhane let pyreflies float into her body and she too became possessed, glaring at us with anger and pain.

"Go away!" Dustin cried, swinging his blades wildly in the air and looking crazed. His attention then turned to me, and he began to attack me.

I was barely able to dodge his attacks and backed away quickly before looking to Cassie who had the same look in her eyes and was pointing her blade at me. Turning to Blake, I noticed he wasn't possessed as he moved to my side and I felt a tiny bit relieved. "What's going on?"

Zhane then appeared behind Blake and tried to possess him, but a navy electrical energy formed around his body like a barrier, and Zhane was repelled. So instead, he appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I felt the white hot pain as the pyreflies entered my body.

"You will see." He whispered in my ear as images began to flash before my eyes and I could barely make out Blake calling my name in worry.

Everything disappeared as I watched the memories that Zhane had to live over and over again. He was playing the organ that controlled Vegnagun, sitting on the machina's head in the piloting seat. His back was turned to the platform as his angry eyes focused on the keys in front of him and he played a haunting melody.

So, he didn't see the figure of the woman running up behind him until she called out to him. Shoulder length blonde hair fluttered around her face delicately as she looked up with wide eyes and flung her arms out from her sides.

"Zhane! You must stop! That's enough!" she called out firmly, but with a look of terror in her eyes.

He spun around in his seat and stood up, leaning over the edge of it to see the woman he loved below. "Karone." he whispered in worry and shock as he moved to the side of the seat and began to get down, making his way to her.

Suddenly, soldiers ran in as they embraced, and everything went black as gunshots were heard. Then, I blinked my eyes open and found myself back in the Den of Woe with Blake holding me tightly as I shivered and slowly stood up.

I saw the same soldiers there, surrounding us and grabbed my guns in terror, aiming them at what I was seeing. "Stay back!" I ordered as my guns shook and I tried to hold them steady.

"Tori!"

Turning my head a little, I watched as Blake put his hands over mine and forcefully lowered my guns. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded in confusion. "You were about to shoot Dustin and Cassie!"

Blinking as I felt my eyes widen, I turned back around to indeed see my possessed friends in front of me, still aiming their weapons and glaring at us.

"Cred! (Shit!)" I cursed angrily. Zhane had almost possessed me and made me kill my friends. Just what game was he playing at??

Zhane appeared between them and took a step towards me, and I immediately shook off Blake's hands as I aimed my guns at him. "Get the hell away from me!" I cried, thoroughly freaked out and pissed off.

"This is our story, Karone." He said softly.

Shaking my head as my guns lowered a little, I crouched a little and glared at him. "Don't _make_ me say this again! I'm. Not. Karone!" I spat venomously as my hands slowly stopped shaking. Quickly re-aiming my guns, I glared at him silently, waiting for his next move.

Beside me, Blake pulled out his sword and glared at the spirit, just as angry as I was, but I suspected, for different reasons.

Cassie and Dustin began moving again, and they raised their weapons for a killing blow when I lost it. "STOP!!!" I screamed as loud and firmly as I could, and they froze. Their eyes focused again before going angry and they each hunched over, clearly fighting a losing battle for control over their bodies.

"You can do this guys!" I called, but Dustin took a step forward and began to attack me.

Taking a step back, I let out a deep sigh before aiming my guns on him and beginning my counter attack. If I was careful, I could knock him out and revive him later. I began trying to shoot him, carefully avoiding any vital areas, but he was too fast, and managed to dodge my shots.

Swinging his blades at me, I jumped back and heard a clang of metal on metal, and looked up to see Blake blocking an attack Cassie made on him.

_So, it's one on one._ I thought darkly. Looking around wildly, I tried to think on my feet, trying to find some way to knock them out.

Then I saw a small rocky ledge over Dustin and aimed my guns. I wasn't sure what I was doing, but fired and watched as some debris came down and a large piece of rock hit Dustin on the head, knocking him out.

Turning my attention to Blake and Cassie, I let Blake distract her as I ducked behind her and used the butt of my gun to knock her out as well. "Well, that was fun." I said sarcastically as I glared around the seemingly empty cavern before reviving my friends, relieved to see that they were back to normal.

"Zhane is no ordinary Unsent." Dustin whimpered as he held the back of his head and looked around as he shook violently.

"Seems that way." Cassie admitted shakily. "When he died one thousand years ago, his feelings became intertwined with the pyreflies, creating this…apparition."

"But… Why here?" I mused out loud.

"Yeah, didn't he and Karone die in Bevelle?" Dustin asked with a confused but no less terrified look on his face.

_Unless…_ "They had to sneak into Bevelle somehow, and I don't think they would've gone through the temple itself." Looking to the back wall of the cavern, I frowned. "Doesn't this look… I dunno…like there used to be a longer passage here?"

"So, you're thinking they snuck into Bevelle this way?" Blake mused out loud.

"I think they're haunting different parts of Bevelle underground. This was a way in, so maybe, they're haunting this place too." Cassie agreed.

"He's like a dream… Or a nightmare." I shuddered as I looked at the others.

Dustin nodded. "He must've had some serious regrets for his feelings to act on their own like that."

"This is what destroyed the squad." Cassie said as she gestured to the pyreflies and moans of the dead. "Despair strong enough to crush the minds of those it touches. What just happened to us, happened to them too. Here. They felt Zhane's despair. They went mad, and they died." Shaking her head, she glared at the three images of Carlos, T.J. and Marah appeared, aiming their guns at each other. "They killed each other!" she cried.

"But these three lived, so I decided to use them." Came Zhane's eerie voice.

The images and his presence disappeared as Cassie growled and swung her sword into the air. "No one uses my friends." She stated in a deadly calm voice.

"Anyway, let's go outside." Dustin suggested with a frightened chuckle as he looked around wildly. "I…_don't_ want to be here!"

"Me either." I agreed whole-heartedly.

Leaving the Den of Woe, we sighed in relief once we were outside. Taking back the spheres, I relaxed once the door shut again and resealed itself.

"It was Zhane. Two years ago, we encountered Zhane's memories and learned of Vegnagun. After we escaped, they said they'd uncover the truth behind it. But then…Carlos shot us. We thought he'd betrayed us, but it wasn't him. I understand now, Zhane was using Carlos the entire time."

We all watched as Cassie lowered her eyes sadly after saying all this.

Nodding, I smiled slight and took a step towards her. "Let's go find him, Cassie."

"Agreed. We have to save him from Zhane." She said with a smile.

Dustin shook his head and held up his hand. "Not so fast."

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Remember when the three of them were meeting in the Bevelle underground? All these pyreflies came floating out of Carlos' body in a big cloud. And then they went whooshing into T.J's body! So, doesn't that mean that Zhane is using T.J's body now?"

"Oh!" Blinking for a moment, Cassie began to grin at Dustin. "Hey, not bad, Dustin." Looking to the rest of us, she shrugged. "So I guess it's T.J. we're saving, then. By the way, you'll be helping."

"Of course." I agreed with a warm smile.

"Yeah, you've already dragged us all over Spira." Dustin teased with a chuckle.

Shaking her head, she smiled at us. "Thank you." She said softly.

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The part where they hypothesized about the wall was just my own thoughts and stuff because I figured people might be curious. It was never really explained why he haunted that place, so I just tried to answer it the best I could.

I really hope you like this chapter.

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"Oh, you did at first. You never shut up. I was ready to lay down some serious hurt."

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R+R please. I love to hear your comments and always appreciate it.

Thank you

Tenshi


	42. Djose, Moonflow and Guadosalam

**Disclaimer** : I don't own it.

**Note** : Ummm…I couldn't think of a title. LOL. Sorry. Obviously, it's just a bit on what happens in the places mentioned in the title.

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(Djose, Normal POV)

Checking up on the temple of Djose after they had defeated Ixion, things seemed to have returned to normal for the most part, besides the giant gaping hole in the Chamber of the Fayth.

Every Al Bhed they came across, thanked them profusely in their native language, and Tori was a little surprised to see Cassie responding in fluent Al Bhed. She never knew she knew the language. But then again, thinking back to that day on the airship, she insulted Brother in Al Bhed too.

"Hela fung! (Nice work!)" an Al Bhed nodded as they walked by, standing just in the common chamber of the temple.

Cassie raised an eyebrow and nodded to him. "Fro, dryhg oui. (Why, thank you.)" she said with a smirk as the Al Bhed gaped in surprise.

"So…who taught you to speak Al Bhed?" Dustin wondered out loud as they walked towards the door.

Grinning a little, she shrugged. "I wonder."

"Was it Marah?" he asked suspiciously.

Nodding a little, she folded her arms over her chest. "I guess she got me interested." Pausing for a moment, her grin turned to a fond smile as she seemed to reminisce. "You see, it occurred to me that learning another language might help me to broaden my horizons."

"Did it work?" Tori asked softly with genuine interest.

Shaking her head slowly, Cassie sighed. "Words weren't enough. But I did come to a realization. To expand your horizons, you have to open yourself up. Get involved with the outside world, let it shape and effect you. That's the only way to change."

"Umm…" Dustin put a hand to his chin as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't get it."

Groaning a little in irritation, she walked over and pointed in his face. "What I'm trying to say is that running around with you three has helped changed me a lot."

"What'd we do?" he shook his head, still lost.

"Well, for one thing, you got me to talk." She admitted slowly. "I… Well, I finally feel I can talk about things."

Tori nodded and smiled. "Well that's good. I thought we were bothering you."

"Oh, you did at first. You never shut up. I was ready to lay down some serious hurt." She admitted carelessly. Then she froze and a sheepish look came over her face as she looked down.

"What!" the former High Summoner demanded in shock as a look of hurt came over her face, and her eyes hid barely concealed amusement.

"Just at first!" Cassie hurried to assure, but Tori turned her back on her, unable to hide her grin.

Lowering her head to the ground, Tori raised one hand to her chest and acted like she was hurt. Catching Blake's eye, she winked and grinned again as Dustin came running up to her side.

"Tori…" he said softly, seeing her grin and wink, he hid his own grin and winked back.

"H-Hey!" Cassie called, looking worried.

"Dustin, Blake, let's go." Tori said brokenly as she began to giggle quietly and walked off quickly.

Cassie, getting that she was being toyed with, grinned and shook her head, huffing a bit in slight irritation. "Must everything be so dramatic? Hey, wait up!" she called as she chased them out of the temple and up the road towards the Moonflow.

(Moonflow, Tori's POV)

Going right over to Tobli as we watched a performance he was throwing, I smiled as we stood beside him. There was a Shoopuf out in the middle of the Moonflow, surrounded by Moonlilies with a small band on the animal's back, playing lovely music as people on the shore swayed and listened to it.

"Toripalooza was a super smasheriffic success! But we mustn't let success go to our heads, no, no, no! We must succeed once more! Well, do relax and enjoy it. The show I mean." He said in his usual cheerful way as he turned back out to the show.

Smiling a little, I nodded and swayed a little as I listened to the unusual music. Two years ago, I wouldn't have thought of this as music, and probably would've stared in confusion. But after two years of living on this planet, I'd gotten used to it, and almost suspected that when I finally went home, I would think our music was weird instead.

"I know, I know! As long as you're here, why don't you join them up on stage?" Tobli questioned, turning away from the music to watch us a moment.

Turning to the others, I shrugged a little, leaving it up to them. Obviously, Dustin agreed immediately and was excited. Blake seemed a little nervous, but nodded as well, and Cassie shrugged in a non-committal way. Turning back to Tobli, I nodded as well and he called the Shoopuf in for us to hop on.

We didn't do much as it returned to the middle of the Moonflow, but stand in out areas and sway to the music or wave to the people on shore. Cassie was situated on the side of the box holding the musicians, sitting down and leaning against it. Dustin stood on the roof of the box, waving excitedly to the people on shore, and I sat on the other side, wrapped safely in Blake's embrace as he sat beside me.

After a little while, we got off and returned to Tobli's side to watch as the show neared the end.

(Guadosalam)

Once it was over, we headed out to Guadosalam and slowly made our way into the town, shocked to find that the Guado had returned! And that's not all, but the musicians from Macalania forest were there too, playing their lovely music.

Checking out the town, I was surprised and confused when I saw no sign of any sphere hunters, and Tromell was listening to the music quietly, until he saw us. Smiling, he made his way over and bowed deeply in front of me.

"There could be no sweeter melody. It is as if the music delivered the Guado from their unhappy fate. Reviled by all of Spira, most of my people decided to forsake Guadosalam. Those of us who remained until the end eventually tired of our miserable fortune and fled to Macalania." He said sadly. "We went to wither away, together with the woods. That is when we met our musical friends. They, too, were prepared to fade away with their beloved woods. Yet hearing them perform, I felt a quickening of my blood. I was quite moved."

Shaking his head, he turned back to the musicians and moved a little closer, knowing we'd follow. "I could not stand by and let such exquisite music be extinguished. After consulting with the other Guado, I decided to bring them home to Guadosalam. Not a single Guado objected. It's been many years since I saw such solidarity between my people. Surely this music is the salve that healed our weary hearts."

Sighing, he shook his head sadly. "I am quite aware of the Ronso's hatred of the Guado. If they were to attack tomorrow, I would neither run nor hide. If they asked to talk, I would talk. Were they to take my life, I would give it freely." He said with determination.

"Not the Ronso. They don't want bloodshed." I said before hiding a wince. Well, that wasn't _entirely_ true. _Most_ of the Ronso didn't want bloodshed, but Garik…and some of the younger, more influential Ronso… Well, I couldn't speak for them.

Dustin looked at me a moment before quickly turning to Tromell and covering my hesitation. "Right, 'cause their Elder's on top of things." He said firmly, reminding me that Kelk had no intention of letting them start a war.

"That is auspicious news." Tromell said with a slight smile, perking up ever so slightly. "The Guado must choose a new leader."

"What about you?" Dustin asked, as if it was an obvious decision and he was shocked no one made it yet.

Shaking his head, Tromell gave a depreciating smirk and looked at the ground. "Preposterous! I will never be remembered for anything but my service to Lord Jyscal and Lord Lothor."

Shivering a bit from the name, I took Blake's hand and took it tightly as I mustered up the courage for a smile as I shook my head to show I disagreed with him.

As the music finally faded away, the musicians each turned to him with their own opinions. First was Donga who snorted a bit at Tromell's last comment. "Ah, quit yer bellyachin'! Ye'd make a fine leader!"

Bayra nodded in agreement as he stroked a few strings on his harp. "You guided us to salvation without any concern for your own safety. You show resolve worthy of a leader."

"But my strength came from your music!" he protested weakly.

Cassie shook her head and chose that time to speak up. "You're wrong. The music only helped you to unlock your own inner strength."

"You really think so?" he asked hesitantly. "Then I will work these old bones the best I can. For my beloved Guado."

"If you're ever feeling weary, we'll play a song to make you cheery!" Pukutak said with a blow of her horn and faint smile.

Saying our farewells, we headed to the Thunder Plain exit, aware that it was once more thundering, but for some strange reason, it was no longer raining and hadn't rained since I had my concert.

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Well, that's my fifth chapter completed in three days. Besides my one short chapter done, I still think that's quite a lot. Last time, I think I updated like 6 chapters in a week's duration at the farm. I'm hoping to have close to 6 if not more in 3 more days.

Well, hope you like it.

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"Bring it, beefsteak!"

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Please R+R.

Thank you

Tenshi


	43. Thunder Plains Cave

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything. I also don't own the name Ladon. I just did a quick search for names for Blake's little 'pet' because I couldn't think of one. Hehehe.

**Note** : I almost forgot to include the Trainer Dressphere, which I had a use for, so I said 'screw it' and made them get and use it in this chapter. So… JuseaPeterson, you'll finally get to see what I was talking about when I mentioned Blake's animal. LOL. Although, that won't be until the second half of the chapter… He he he…

Also, for Dustin and Blake…many of you should recognize the outfits I'm giving them. (Grins)

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(Thunder Plains)

As soon as we stepped into the now dry Thunder Plains, taking in the unusual sense of peace that had blossomed here, we immediately heard a man screamed as he ran by, and that sense of peace was quickly shattered.

"Fiends!!" he cried as he ran towards Guadosalam.

Fiends? But after the concert, the fiends had disappeared.

But, it seemed to be the truth. Looking out over the plains, we saw the lightning blasting down all over the place, and the small group of fiends at each of the lightning towers, looking like they were draining the energy into their bodies.

Our coms activated, and Ethan's voice came through, offering us an explanation. "Sphere waves scattered during the concert, causing fiends endemic to this region to rampage."

Raising an eyebrow, it took me a second to translate that.

"So, in other words, your sphere screen is to blame." Cassie stated knowingly with a grim expression as she folded her arms over her chest and looked out over the said fiends.

Chuckling nervously, I could almost see his shrug. "Huh. 'Find a sphere and the fiends appear'?" he offered a little sheepishly.

Shaking my head, I sighed, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. In order to restore the Thunder Plains to some sense of normalcy, we had to fight and defeat each of the fiends at each of the towers. Meaning, we had to fight 12 sets of fiends.

It took the better part of the day, and a lot of our potions, but we finally managed to defeat the fiends, picking up some rare items, including another ribbon, which Dustin tied to my arm before I could even argue, and a ring that would heal any wounds the wearer got within a day. That of course, Blake took and slipped onto my finger before he kissed me and gave me a look that told me to shut up and take it.

Still, once the fiends were gone…

"Um, the lightning isn't stopping." Dustin said with worry as he placed his finger against his chin and cocked his head to the side.

Well, there were 12 towers, and we only beat the fiends at 11 of them, meaning there was still one tower to go. "Let's look around some more." I suggested, though I think I already knew where to look.

Walking along the bank of the right side of the Thunder Plains, we came to a curve where the lake stood. Out a small ways from the shore, was a small island, and on it, a single lonesome lightning tower, still drawing lightning. And standing just under that tower was a Behemoth type fiend.

It was a giant purple furred monster and walked on four legs and had a wolf-like face. Long, yellowed horns came from it's head, and a spiked yellow mane ran down to it's upper back. Rearing onto it's hind legs, it roared loudly before jumping high into the air and landing in the shallow water in front of us.

"Tori!" Cassie called as she readied her sword and I grabbed my guns.

Dustin smirked and grabbed his blades, spinning them in his hands as he crouched low and focused his eyes on the Behemoth. "Bring it, beefsteak!" he called haughtily.

Holding my guns for a moment, I shook my head, realizing we'd need every advantage we could get and put them away as I hit the button on my Garment Grid for the Songstress. Changing my dressphere, I grabbed my microphone and nodded to myself as a faint melody reached my ears.

This was the magic of the Songstress. Closing my eyes, I waved my microphone and began to dance to the tune only I could hear. "Hey, eyes on me!" I called as I began to move.

A black cloud formed in front of the fiend's eyes and when it faded away, what was once a clear, angry yellow, was now a milky white as the creature staggered around, swinging wildly as it tried to hit us.

The others took their chances and began their attacks. Dustin jumped on the Behemoth's arm as it swung, and ran up it to the shoulder, where he jumped onto it's back and began his attacks with his daggers.

Cassie ran around, avoiding the claws as she swung at them, trying to cripple the fiend.

Blake took a different approach and sheathed his sword as he grabbed his morpher. "Thunder Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" he called, morphing into the Navy Thunder Ranger.

Getting an idea, Dustin changed into Black Mage and cast a watera on the Behemoth, soaking the giant fiend.

Following his lead, Blake nodded and charged up his thunder powers before leveling a powerful Thundaga spell at the fiend and frying it, causing it to fall over before slowly staggering to it's feet and looking around blindly.

Out of breath from my dancing, I stopped a moment and quickly grabbed my own morpher. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" Now that the fiend was weakened, I decided to go for a stronger attack and pulled out my Ninja Sword. "Ninja Sword, Gold Mode!" I called, powering up my blade as I raced towards the Behemoth. Swinging at it, I cut it down the center, and watched as it fell to the ground, fading into pyreflies, before demorphing.

Beside me, Blake too demorphed, and we stood, panting as the lightning stopped and the skies cleared a little. Thunder could still be heard, but it seemed, the danger had passed.

A few moments later, and an Al Bhed man came running up to us with a grateful smile and nod as he realized the fiends were gone. "Dryhgc y mud! Tet oui lralg dra dufan uid oad? Drana'c y cdnyhka ruma (Thanks a lot! Did you check the tower out yet? There's a strange hole.)" he said a little breathlessly as he pointed towards a visible cave with pyreflies floating around the entrance.

Turning to the rest of us, Dustin looked worried. "He says there's another hole by the tower."

Raising an eyebrow, I resisted the urge to smack him on the side of the head and remind him that we all already knew that, seeing as we all understood Al Bhed pretty well.

"Think it's connected to the others?" Cassie asked with a frown.

Shaking my head, I looked closely to the hole. "I don't think there's a Fayth here." I mused out loud. In fact, I was fairly certain this hole wasn't connected to the others, but then… Why was it here?

"Uh-oh." Dustin shivered and his look turned a little frightened. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

_Me too._ I thought darkly, wondering what sort of dangers awaited inside.

"E lyh dygam oui du dra ruma. (I can take you to the hole.)" the Al Bhed offered nervously.

Nodding to him, I figured it was best if we went right away and got it over with. "Take us to the hole." I instructed as he pulled out a remote and a boat zoomed across the water towards us. Boarding, he took us to the hole and waited outside as we entered.

"Aww…" Dustin murmured quietly, not pleased at all that we were going into the hole.

Right away, as soon as we entered the cave, I noticed the large piles of machina parts on the ground, as well as inactive and active machinas all over the place. As soon as we took two steps inside, we were bombarded with machinas, and fought them off easily, recognizing them as the earlier models that meant that if we used our thieving abilities, we could steal vital components, making them fall apart immediately.

So hitting my Garment Grid, I was soon decked out in a light blue and white two piece outfit. Grabbing my daggers, I ran into the cave, running through an open doorway and down a rocky corridor until I came to a turn and a closed doorway. Taking the turn, we managed to maneuver around the cave until we came to a last open doorway, and an injured Cid sitting on the ground at the other end.

Seeing a treasure chest on the way, I made a quick side trip to open it and found the Trainer Dressphere, which I put on my Garment Grid, and we made our way over to my injured uncle.

"Vydran? (Father?)" Dustin asked uncertainly as he knelt down beside the older man who grumbled a bit and looked up with a sheepish grin.

"Err…" Waving a little, he shrugged. "Howdy."

"Howdy?" the young Al Bhed cried incredulously. "What howdy? What the heck are you doing?" he demanded angrily, though his eyes shone of worry.

"I found a hole, so I decided to explore it." He said with another shrug, as if it explained everything. "Call it curiosity."

Raising an eyebrow and folding my arms over my chest, I sighed deeply. _Haven't you ever heard that old saying? Curiosity killed the Shoopuf._ I thought with a shake of my head.

"But this place is swarmin' with fiends! I, uh…" scratching the back of his head, he gave us all another sheepish look. "I can't get out. Do pops a favor and show him the way outta here?" Trying to get up, he grunted in pain as he put weight on his injured leg and fell back down again, wiping sweat from his pained brow. "Must've pulled something." He grumbled to himself.

"You are so lame!" Dustin groaned with a roll of his eyes.

Resisting the urge to giggle at them, I turned to everyone and shrugged. "Who's gonna carry him?" I asked softly.

Snorting, Cid shook his head firmly. "Hey, let a man keep his pride!"

"Got a better idea?" Cassie shot back with a raised eyebrow.

Nodding, he turned to the closed doorway and pointed as it shook and slowly opened to reveal a large machina that resembled the ones we faced on Lake Macalania two years ago. "How about this? Make yer old man proud and scrap that thing!"

The machina rumbled to life and approached quickly, and we had to jump out of the way. Knowing we would need the extra power, but also knowing that Cid didn't know about the Ranger aspects of Blake and I, I wondered what we were going to do. Songstress wouldn't work on this thing, seeing as how it wasn't alive. Stealing wouldn't work, as it wasn't built like the others in this cave, so that left what?

Blinking in surprise, I looked down to my Garment Grid and remembered the new Dressphere. "How about we give Trainer a go?" I mused out loud, looking to my friends.

The others shrugged and we all hit the appropriate buttons on our Grid, being immediately masked in light.

Dustin rotated slowly in the air as his Thief Dressphere was slowly replaced with a snug fitting black leather outfit with yellow trim and the badge of earth on his chest. Raising his arm, a monkey came rushing out of a portal and jumped onto his shoulders.

Cassie had the same thing happen, only her outfit turned out to be an earth colored dress with long flowing sleeves and a floor length skirt that pooled around her. Raising her hand to the sky, a falcon screeched as it flew out of another portal and landed on her wrist, glaring at the machina.

My own outfit was replaced with a dress similar to Cassie's, only it was trimmed in a light blue, and a bark sounded as I crouched down. A large golden wolf appeared out of a portal and ran up to me as I pet it's head gently and smiled.

And lastly, Blake's outfit was replaced with the same thing as Dustin's, only his was trimmed in navy and had the symbol of thunder on his shoulders. A loud roar was heard as a portal opened, and a navy dragon with scales that shone brightly, golden eyes, and crimson wings flew through to land on his shoulders and curl around his neck.

Blinking in shock once I could see the others, I shuddered involuntarily as I realized that Dustin and Blake were dressed in exact replicas of their ninja garb from earth. While Dustin was more interested in the monkey than his outfit, Blake looked shocked but also, a lot more comfortable.

Hearing a rumble, we all turned our attention back to the battle and began our attack.

"Ladon, attack!" Blake ordered calmly as the dragon flew off his shoulders and took a deep breath, before unleashing an attack that seemed to be a combination of crimson and navy lightning from it's mouth. As the attack struck the machina, it sparked violently and rolled a pace back.

"Ghiki, steal!" Dustin cried as the monkey hopped off his arm and ran towards the machina, swiping a vital part and weakening it profusely.

"Kogoro, pound!" I called, watching as he howled loudly and several wolves appeared out of a portal, swarming the machina.

"Flurry, guard!" Cassie called, taking a step back as the falcon flew into the air and spread it's wings, and an aura of light pink energies surrounded us. No doubt, it was like a protect spell, but for a group instead of one person at a time.

Keeping up our attacks, the machina fell in no time and turned into a large pile of rusted metal. I took a moment to look back at Blake, feeling a little uncertain in seeing him in ninja garb. It seemed like it had been so long, I was happy to see it, and in a way, comforted, but also, a little unnerved, wondering where he idea came for that outfit, and what it could mean.

"Daahykanc draca tyoc yna uid uv luhdhym! (Teenagers these days are out of control!)" Cid muttered quietly as he stared wide eyed at the rusted pile of metal we had just been fighting.

We all changed back to our original Dresspheres, besides Blake, who remained happily clad in navy trimmed black leather with his new scaled friend sitting happily on his shoulder.

Turning my attention back to my uncle, I pushed my thoughts aside and focused on him at the moment. "Um, you're welcome to come aboard our airship." I said softly as he slowly stood up, wincing in pain but remaining on his feet.

As if he was listening to our conversation, which knowing him, he likely was, Brother contacted us through our coms, obviously angry as he spoke to his father. "Vydran, ev oui fyhd uh dra creb, ybumukewa du sa! (Father, if you want on the ship, apologize to me!" he ordered.

Blinking a moment, I frowned. The man was hurt! Who did Brother think he was, ordering his own father around like that?

But, to my surprise, Cid didn't blow up. Instead, he sighed and hung his head as we neared the entrance to the cave. "E's cunno, cuh. (I'm sorry, son)" he said softly and sincerely.

There was a moment of silence before Brother's obviously suspicious voice filtered through our coms quietly. "Dryd fyc duu ayco. Fryd'c ra bmuddehk? (That was too easy. What is he planning?)"

"Hmph!" Cid grunted as we paused for him to catch his breath.

Staring at him, I felt a small smile tug at the corners of my lips. I knew that even though they fought, they didn't hate each other. They just had a hard time expressing themselves.

_Cid and Brother have put each other through a lot over the years. Not even Dustin knows what caused their final falling out. Still, there's something nice about the whole thing. If only I could've talked like this to my father…or you, with yours._

Shaking my head a little, I walked with the others towards the opening of the cave. Spiran Tori seemed to be getting more restless for some reason, and I wondered… Was it because of our impending meeting with Zhane? Was she still hoping to find Zach? Would she ever find Zach?

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Wow, chapter number 6 in four days. Not bad. (grins) At this rate, I'm hoping to have the fic finished by either the end of this month or the beginning of next month.

Um, yeah… I also don't remember if I spelled it Zach, or Zack. LOL.

Well, not one of my favorites, but not one of the worst either… I hope you like it.

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"The woods are so empty."

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R+R please.

Thank you

Tenshi


	44. Bikanel Troubles and the Aeons?

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok, …..uh, I wanted to write a note… But I can't remember why now. LOL. Uh…. Summoning? That's all I'm going to say. Read to find out. In the FFX-2 script, there is NO summoning besides the Dark Aeons that you will find, so any Summoning is my own idea in this fic.

**Legend** :

"speaking"

_thoughts_

telepathic communication.

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(Celsius)

Heading to the deck of the airship, I watched as a newly healed Cid stormed angrily around it before he turned to leave with a shake of his head. "Shameful, how they gussied this baby up!" he muttered to himself, seemingly not knowing I was there. "Dern kitschy paint job. Just who does he take after?" Storming to the elevator, he took it down and I followed silently, biting back my giggles.

My next stop was the bridge, where I wasn't really surprised to find Cid trying to take over the leader role. Dustin was in his seat, blissfully ignoring him, but he and Brother were in a heated argument.

"Femm oui xied ouin nalgmacc bedmudehk? (Will you watch your reckless piloting?)" he demanded, standing in the center of the bridge and glaring at the back of Brother's head.

Brother groaned and shook his head, not turning away from what he was doing. "Seht ouin ufh picehacc, Vydran! (Mind your own business, Father!)"

Shaking his head, Dustin turned to look at his father and raised an eyebrow. "Tuh'd cdnyeh ourncamy, Vydran. Oui sekrd pnayg cusadrehk (Don't strain yourself, Father. You might break something.)" he quipped.

"Ed ec uin creb. Mad ic ryhtma ed. (It is our ship. Let us handle it.)" Brother insisted firmly as he typed something into the control panel.

Sighing heavily, Cid turned away. "Tu fryd oui fyhd. (Do what you want.)" he said simply as he walked away.

(Macalania)

Heading to Macalania forest, I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat at seeing it had faded even more. The woods that once sparkled with beauty, were now muddy and solemn.

Trudging up the path to the spheremorph spring, where the Guado once stood, only one remained and seemed ready to leave. Turning to us, he nodded sadly before turning to look out over the woods.

"The Guado who sought shelter in these woods have returned home to Guadosalam. They were accompanied by Macalania's other races, who had already begun to fade away in this place. Alas, these woods have grown far too quiet." Shaking his head, he turned and left the spring.

"The woods are so empty…" I said sadly, recalling my precious moments in this very forest as we walked along.

Dustin nodded. "I guess this place doesn't have much time left. Kinda sad to think that all of this will be gone, huh?"

Shaking her head, Cassie looked to me and gave a soft smile. "At least we have…our memories."

Making our way to the spring where Blake and I shared our first kiss, I smiled sadly and stood at he edge of the water. My mind flashed back to when he tried to talk me out of my journey, and then to how I broke down and cried. But Blake… It was like he knew what I needed. That kiss we shared, it made me feel like my whole body was on fire, and I knew without a doubt, that he loved me.

Raising my hand to my lips, I closed my eyes as I let out a resounding whistle, remembering how he promised me he'd be with me forever, and that he kept his promise. Leaving for two years, he gave up his life back on earth, just to come find me. For two years, he waited.

_Not until the end. Always._

In two years, those words never left my mind.

A second whistle sounded before two arms wrapped around me and I leaned into Blake's embrace, feeling utterly safe, and giggling slightly when the dragon, Ladon nuzzled up against my face. "Not until the end. Always." Blake whispered into my ears, sending shivers up my spine. "I never forgot or gave up. Never."

Feeling tears well up in my eyes, I smiled and turned around, wrapping my arms around in his neck. "Neither did I." I whispered back, closing the distance and kissing him lightly.

_I'm not ready to call this place just a memory. Not yet._

After a few moments, we pulled back and I looked back out over the spring sadly. Watching it a little, we hesitantly turned and left, going to the teleport sphere to take us to the Celsius.

(Bikanel)

On the Celsius, we were immediately told of an emergency call from Bikanel. Apparently, strange fiends were attacking, and Marnela of the Cactuar Nation needed our help urgently.

Stepping onto the hot sands of the Bikanel digger's camp, we were quickly confronted by a frantic Syd with a silent Trini beside her.

"Boy, am I glad you're here!" Syd exclaimed with a sigh of relief as she stopped at our side.

Grinning wryly, Dustin raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. "Mad sa kiacc…. (Let me guess….)" he muttered quietly.

"We've got a prickly situation. Fiends are attacking the Cactuar Nation."

_Tell us something we didn't know._ I quipped dryly in my mind as I nodded solemnly to her. "We'll take care of it!" I said firmly, already getting what she wanted. Turning to Trini, I nodded to her next. "Trini, let's go!"

Glancing to Dustin with a raised eyebrow, Cassie shook her head. "I was wrong. She doesn't get dragged into trouble…"

"She jumps in head first." he finished with a grin. Pointing to her face, he walked by and followed me as I ran towards the hover. "And you love it. Admit it."

Pausing for a moment, she seemed to think about it before shrugging. "You're right." she said easily.

Taking the hover to the Cactuar Nation, we got a view of a large sink hole with giant snakes spilling out in the thousands.

"What's that?" Cassie asked as she pointed.

A large fiend also began to rise out of the sink hole. It had a large body in an almost unidentifiable shape, with large creatures as it's arms. I couldn't describe any of it for the life of me, but it was really unusual and powerful looking to say the least.

Passing by it, we entered the Cactuar Nation and ran over to Marnela where Trini took up her spot next to the ancient leader of the Cactuars.

"Those _aren't_ your garden variety fiends." Cassie said firmly as she stared at the snakes that slithered to the top of a nearby sand dune.

Nodding, Trini turned to Marnela. "Let's ask Marnela. She knows more than I do."

"Ok." With a nod to her, I turned to the ancient Cactuar. "Sure. Marnela, do you know what's going on?"

The Cactuar began to wiggle back and forth, making it's weird creaking noise, and Trini translated. "An ancient and terrifying fiend that long slept beneath the earth has awoken. The fiend is now heading here. Angra Mainyu. We must waste no time in raising the Great Haboob. Only the ten Gatekeepers are able to raise this magical barrier. Nine have returned back, but I am afraid the final has run into the sealed Cactuar Hollow, nearby. You must find him quickly, before the last of my power wanes."

Turning back to us, Trini looked worried. "That's the gist of it."

"Tori!" Cassie called as she pointed to the hill.

The snakes began to grow restless and slither down the hill slowly, a menacing gleam shining in their eyes.

Trini ran forward and pulled our arms, effectively pulling us back a few feet. "Get back!" she called suddenly.

Marnela began to shake violently, and a large purple beam of energy shot forth from her body, striking and killing many of the snakes. We were knocked back and to the ground from the force of the blow, and I shakily stood back up, stunned for a moment.

"Impossible!" Cassie cried as she too stood back up.

Dustin blinked for a moment and wiped his eyes. "Did she get 'em?" he asked hesitantly as he looked towards the hill.

More snakes suddenly appeared, and we all stood back as another blast hit them, only for more to appear.

"No. She says she's struggling to hold them back." Turning to us, Trini nodded to a nearby cave as nine small Cactuars appeared and seemed to dance a bit in a circle, making the seal glow before it faded away, opening the cave to us. "You must hurry and find the last Gatekeeper!"

Running into the cave with Trini following us, we stopped to take in the dimly lit place as torches cast an eerie orange glow over the man-made cavern. "Nice place." Cassie muttered sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

"It's said that this is where the rogue cactuars hang out. I guess the Gatekeeper fell in with the wrong crowd. They're all holed up somewhere inside." Trini informed us solemnly.

"Here we go again." I muttered quietly to myself with a sigh.

Cassie nodded and shrugged. "Let's teach them some social skills. Come on."

Walking along the long, twisting path, we fought a few random fiends that were surprisingly easy, but unfortunately, we soon came across a Sallet. It was like a heavily armored armadillo with huge, armored front claws, and for the most part, was fairly simple to kill.

But that's when one of those rogue cactuars appeared.

Looking at the fallen fiend, it squeaked and shot thousands of needles into it, causing the Sallet to grow and return to life. Now, what was once the size of a large dog, was now easily half the size of a Shoopuf.

Groaning, we grabbed our weapons and began our assault again, surprised to find this fiend much tougher than it had been before. But we still managed to beat it, and sighed in relief when it finally fell and faded away into pyreflies.

Running down the hall again, I didn't see the drop off until I fell off the edge of it. Hitting the ground below, hard, I fell to my knees and grunted a little in surprise and a little pain. Climbing back to my feet, I noticed we were in a room with a small amount of sand falling from holes in the wall. It looked suspicious, but like it was the only way through.

Noticing the others land behind me, I nodded and we began to race through, but halfway to the other side, I noticed the amount of falling sand had increased, and what had started out as maybe an inch of sand on the ground, had grown to be up to my calves in a matter of minutes.

"A trap!" I called, running once again for the other side. I knew the others were right behind me, and panicked a little when the sand reached my waist.

Then, we made it to the other side, and had to climb up a wall. We barely managed to make it as the sand trap rose high enough to suffocate us, but we were lucky to get out of there in time.

Staring in front of me, I noticed the small, deep green Cactuar and walked towards it, recognizing it as the final Gatekeeper.

Trini took a step forward and seemed to try to speak to it, but with a shake of her head, we watched as it jumped off a ledge behind it and joined with many of the rogue cactuars as they grew together into a jumbo sized Cactuar.

Noting the hostile look, Blake rolled his eyes and scratched Ladon on the back of the head with a sigh. "Looks like it wants to fight." He mumbled darkly.

Then Trini called out something in a high pitched squeak, which sounded eerily like the cactuar's way of talking, and it stopped, shrinking back down as the dark green cactuar left the others and ran over.

"Or…maybe not."

Turning to Trini, I raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. "I explained the situation." She said simply and I nodded hesitantly as we ran back through the cave and out to where the other Gatekeepers stood in a circle with a glowing pattern forming around them.

With a squeak, the final Gatekeeper raced over to join them and they chanted a spell, I think. A symbol of a large Cactuar formed and glowed brightly before dissipating, and they each fell over in exhaustion.

"The Cactuar Nation will be safe from fiends from now on, but Marnela, she…" Trini trailed off as she looked away.

Following her gaze, I frowned in worry as my eyes settled on the remains of a dead Cactus. "Marnela?" I questioned in disbelief. This cactus looked like it had been dead for years, but it stood exactly where Marnela had, and Trini's look of sorrow… It couldn't be…could it?

"She used all her power to stop them." She said sadly.

"No." Poor Marnela. She gave her life to protect the other cactus' and Cactuars from being killed.

Suddenly, a beeping noise was heard and everyone looked up, shocked to find one of the machina scouts flying their way with a red light flashing on the top of it.

"Fa kud y fiend er dra lysb! Tyhkan! Tyhkan! (We got a fiend at the camp! Danger! Danger!)" it announced upon arriving at our sides.

Shaking his head, Dustin frowned. "Now a fiend's attacking the camp!"

Sighing heavily, I rolled my eyes and groaned. It seemed that lately, we had been getting into one battle after another. Was a little peace too much to ask?

Apparently.

We pretty much had fiends coming at us from all sides, and then the threat of Vegnagun.

Making our way to the hover, we quickly made our way to the camp, only to find that ancient fiend Marnela had warned us about, Angra Mainyu, attacking the camp. Frowning a little in worry, we rushed toward it, engaging it immediately to draw it's attention away from the ruined camp and injured Al Bhed.

Managing to draw it quite a ways away from the camp, I changed into Black Mage and began charging a wateraga spell, planning to combine it with one of Blake's Dragon, Ladon's attacks to cause some serious damage.

Cassie changed to Gunner and glowed slightly as she charged up a Trigger Happy. When she unleashed it, it was timed perfectly with a grenade Dustin had found and tossed at the monster.

Then, one of the creatures that acted as the fiend's arms, swung forward and knocked Dustin several feet away, where he laid unmoving. Taking the slight distraction, I cast my wateraga and ran over to use a phoenix down and hi-potion to revive him.

As soon as the fiend was drenched from my wateraga spell, Blake nodded to the dragon that flew into the air and hovered above Blake's head as it charged up it's attack. Letting out it's lightning breath, the fiend shook from the force of electricity. Then Blake pursed his lips before closing his eyes and grinning. "Ladon, pilfer health." He said calmly.

The dragon gave a squawk and flew over to the fiend, where a white light surrounded them both before turning into a vacuum that drained energy from the fiend. Once it had the energy, Ladon flew back over and a white light shone down, healing our wounds and giving us back our strength.

Cassie shot off another Trigger Happy at one of the arms, causing it to hunch over and fall limp.

Dustin grabbed another grenade and threw it at the other arm, causing it too to fall limp. Then, he focused on the main part of Angra Mainyu, running forward with his daggers to begin slicing at the huge fiend.

I raised my wand as I charged up another wateraga spell, and cast it as soon as it was ready. Then, I charged up a Thundaga spell in rapid succession and cast that one too, at the same time as Blake had his dragon use it's lightning breath, doubling the damage we did.

Suddenly, I felt a strange tugging sensation and gasped loudly as I blinked and raised a hand to rest on my chest. Closing my eyes, I felt a strange surge of power, as well as a gentle presence, and a soft voice spoke in my mind.

Those of us you have helped, have returned temporarily to help you in return. Use our power wisely.

_But…. How? _Feeling my eyes fly open and widen, I reached blindly into my pouch and found a sphere I had hidden there seemingly so long ago. That I had once sworn I'd never wear again, running from the pain and memories it carried. Hitting the button on the top, I felt the raw surge of power grow as I changed into the all too familiar Dressphere, and gasped slightly as tears came to my eyes. _It's been so long. Too long._

"Tor…." I herd Blake breathe lightly in awe as I focused my eyes on the enemy.

Could I do it? Dressed in my Summoner garb, I certainly planned to try.

Brushing out my now long blue, pleated skirt, I pulled up my flowing, detached sleeve and raised my navy handled staff and focused on the power growing within me. _Hear my prayer._ I thought in deep meditation as I lowered the staff in front of me and held it against my chest with both hands. Closing my eyes, I felt a tear run down my cheek. _Valefor!_ I called mentally as I lunged backwards, lifting the staff over my head behind me as I pointed my other hand to the ground.

The power built within me until it burst out, and I stepped back as I opened my eyes, seeing the lights shooting up from the glowing circle that had formed beneath my feet, to spread out around me. _It worked?!_

There was a screeching cry and suddenly, Valefor flew through the sky to land gently a few feet away from me. Staring at me with gentle, blue eyes, I felt more tears fall as I took in the once again bright colors of it's wings as I walked up and softly pet it's beak.

With a final pat, I backed away and focused on the fiend in front of us, which had been extremely weakened, but still stood strong. "Sonic Ray!" I called as Valefor flew up a few feet into the air and flapped it's wings furiously, causing a powerful wind storm to blow sand and chunks of machina debris at Angra Mainyu, hurting him badly as he was struck repeatedly.

_How did this happen? I thought the Aeons were gone for good._ I mused as I ordered my first ever Aeon to strike the fiend after Blake used the lightning breath of his dragon. _How did they get the power to come back?_

The power of love and faith brought us back, though I do not know for how long. Came the soft response, and I recognized it as Bahamut.

I felt my face heat up and glanced at Blake quickly, noting he was focused on the battle but kept shooting me confused glances. Cassie and Dustin were the same, but Dustin looked shocked as well, already knowing what had happened. Cassie just looked confused.

Calling out another Sonic Ray attack, I watched as Blake coupled it with Ladon's lightning breath, and Dustin threw in a grenade for good measure. It seemed enough to end the battle, and as the fiend fell to the ground and began to fade away, I thanked and dismissed Valefor, still confused about a lot of this.

"What was that?" Cassie questioned, running to my side.

Dustin came running over to and cocked his head to the side with a worried frown. "I thought that after Sin, they were gone forever."

_So did I._ "Well, I did too, but well…" Shrugging, I really didn't know what to say. I just decided to explain what I had been told as I changed back into my Gunner and placed my Summoner on my Garment Grid, all be it, hesitantly. "They said that the ones we'd helped are here to help us. That love and faith brought them back, but they didn't know for how long."

Blake was a little pale, despite the hot sun beaming down on us, and blinked silently for a moment before he frowned and took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze in order to help me calm down.

"Well, ok. We could sure use the help." Cassie muttered reluctantly.

With a nod, we made our way back to the camp, though I still questioned how they came back. Still, it felt nice to have even some of my old friends back.

"You're a real lifesaver!" Syd cried as she ran over with a relieved smile. "I guess you can always count on the Gullwings."

"Thanks." I said quietly, giving a polite smile.

"But…" Cassie looked around and frowned at the burned down tents and destroyed machina, as well as the injured Al Bhed that had yet to be healed. Most were up and around, doing a lot of different things, but otherwise… "What a mess."

"I guess." Syd looked a little sad, but not so much worried. "It's all relative. This is nothing compared to what happened to Home." She said as her face actually _did_ turn sad at the mention of the small city that used to live on Bikanel island. "What's done is done."

Looking around, I noticed the Al Bhed smiling and celebrating, some carrying food to the only remaining tent, and some holding bottles of Spiran liquor and toasting to everything with broad smiles. Checking out my friends, I noticed Blake raise an eyebrow at the liquor bottles before pursing his lips and shaking his head ever so slightly. Cassie looked like she seriously considered a drink, but at the same time, didn't want to give in to the urge, and Dustin was practically drooling over the sight of the number of bottles, but with a smack to the back of the head from Cassie, and a quick pout, he shrugged and turned his back on it.

To be honest, I wasn't much of a drinker at all, but had a slight urge for a drink. Still, I knew we had too much to worry about, and well… I knew I didn't really _need_ it.

"You're pretty tough." Cassie remarked with an impressed look.

Suddenly, Dustin began to sniff the air and grinned. "Hey…" He sniffed some more and chuckled. "I smell something good."

Discreetly sniffing the air, I had to agree that whatever it was, it _did_ smell good! "Hey, you're right!" I said out loud, before blushing and looking down.

An Al Bhed drove by on an odd looking motorbike with a grin. "Lusa yht kad ouin jeldiymc! (Come and get your victuals!)" he called as he drove around the camp and a number of the Al Bhed began to head to the tent.

"Food?" Cassie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Laughing a little, Syd nodded. "We whipped it up during the battle. As long as we're still kicking, we're gonna get hungry. Hunger's proof we're alive. We've got heaps of food. I don't suppose you're hungry." She stated with a sly grin.

Turning to exchange looks with the others, I nodded with a grin. "Gullwings at your service!" I said cheerily as we walked to the tent for something to eat.

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Well there ya go. Don't ask me why I added the Summoning, but it seemed like a good idea at he time. I'm also considering letting her keep the powers when she returns… All of the powers, but I don't know yet. Should I? That includes the abilities, dresspheres, Garment Grids, and Summoning abilities (A.K.A. Aeons).

Let me know what you think? Also, should Blake have the Summoning abilities?

Just so you know, Shiva, Anima and Magus Sisters aren't available yet because they haven't 'saved' them yet. But they will…

Hope you liked this.

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"They're multiplying!"

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R+R please. All comments are welcome.

Thank you everyone for your support.

Tenshi.


	45. Bevelle and Calm Lands

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Thank you **Jessesgirl1549**. I'm glad you like the fic so far. :) I try to update at least once a week with multichapter uploads.

Also, thanks again to **ThunderBrosRule27**, **Pinklen98**, and **JuseaPeterson** for keeping me going to this point. :)

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(Bevelle)

Luckily, we remembered not to overstuff ourselves, and we left quickly after the feast. Our next stop was Bevelle and I was a little worried. What if New Yevon soldiers still harbored anger towards us for giving the sphere to the Youth League? I didn't see how, but everyone, and I mean _everyone_ thought that meant we had joined forces with Carlos, but that wasn't it at all.

Still, walking along the Highbridge, I wondered if we'd be in any danger, but it seemed, the soldiers were only too happy to allow us in, and it made me a little wary of what could possibly be going on.

Walking to the main temple, I stopped short when I saw Jason leaning against the wall of it, his arms folded over his chest as he watched someone at the main entrance. Turning to follow his gaze, I noticed Billy talking to several guards, and blinked in surprise.

_Ok, so _that_ I didn't expect._ I thought in shock. I never expected to find Billy here, let alone with Jason watching over him. I thought Jason was angry at him. Shaking my head, I approached the said man and smiled as he turned his head and gave a surprised smile.

"Hey."

Blinking in surprise at the actual _greeting_, I giggled and waved. "Hi, Jason." It was a bit of a shock to run into someone who didn't just begin talking about their problems, and who actually said 'hello'. "Aren't you a member of the Youth League? What're you doing in front of New Yevon's headquarters?" I asked quietly, wondering if he was doing more reconnaissance or something.

Raising an eyebrow, he quickly shook his head. "I've been asking myself the same question." Pointing over his shoulder, he shrugged. "Look."

More people began to gather around Billy as he said a few things, and many of them either smiled or visibly relaxed.

"My brother heard that Bevelle was a mess and came all the way from Zanarkand. Hey, he can do what he wants, but what I want to know is…" Shaking his head, he scratched the back of his neck and looked a little lost. "How'd I get dragged into all of this?"

Even though the question seemed rhetorical, I grinned and giggled a little. "You're protecting Bevelle together."

Looking thoughtful, he gave a slight nod. "Yeah, I guess that's about right. Somebody's gotta watch his back."

Suddenly, Rocky, Taro, Hana and a bunch of children wearing armor appeared, spreading around the area with fairly serious looks on their faces and I blinked as I took them all in.

"Hey Jason, who ya talking about?" Rocky asked as he raced over to his big brother.

Shrugging, he offered a fond smirk and pat the young man's shoulder. "We're talking about how brothers have to stick together." He said evasively.

"Oh, ok! See you later, Lady Tori!" Turning to the children, he nodded seriously. "Kinderguardians, move out!" Running off, the children all ran after him, a few giggling.

"They're multiplying!" Dustin cried as he dodged a few kids running past him and looked almost horrified.

Cassie laughed and shook her head as Jason chuckled and nodded. "Yeah! They're becoming a regular kindercorps."

"At least they're having fun." I put in with a small smile.

Nodding thoughtfully, he looked over to the temple that they had run back into. "Maybe 'fun' is all the world really needs." He mused quietly.

Dustin nodded as he looked over to Billy and seemed to regard him closely for a minute. "Billy's changed too, huh?" he said absently as he turned back to us.

"Him? He'll never change." Sighing heavily, Jason shook his head. "He goes around playing superhero, and leaves us with all the headaches."

"Hey, I know someone like that." Dustin said slyly as he stared right at me and grinned.

Cassie raised an eyebrow before she too, nodded. "Oh, someone who goes around playing superhero, is it?" she added with a smirk as she gazed briefly to me.

"You mean Brother!" I said seriously, ignoring that I already knew who they meant.

"Wrong." Cassie deadpanned.

"Adam?" I questioned cluelessly, resisting the urge to giggle.

Dustin shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, uh, Dustin, why don't we get going?" Cassie suggested with a raised eyebrow, attempting to change the subject.

Nodding a little, he grinned. "Yup. Sounds good."

"Come on! Tell me who!" I cried pathetically, beginning to crack down and giggle, letting them know I was on to them. Chasing after them, full of giggles, we headed out of Bevelle and on to the Calm Lands.

(Calm Lands, Blake's POV)

Well, I was a little relieved when we entered the Calm Lands, and found nothing wrong. Every place we had been to, had either been under attack, or needed our help for one thing or another, but this was like a brief break.

Making our way across the massive fields, I noticed that the two game companies that had been fighting to be more popular than the other, had joined into one. At least this gave me a chance to relax and do some thinking, and thinking is something I really needed to do right about now.

I think, the biggest thing on my mind, besides how freaked out I was to see Tori in her Summoner dressphere, was that the Aeons were back.

Don't get me wrong, I like the outfit. It's not that it doesn't look good….

It's the memories it carries.

When she changed into that, I had to struggle to focus on the battle, and ignore the memories that came rushing back at the sight of it. They ranged from when I first saw her exiting the Chamber of the Fayth, two years ago, all the way to when I told her I loved her and faded away to return to earth.

I saw images of our laughter, and all the times I knew something was wrong, but no one would tell me. How I found out Cam was an unsent. How everyone reacted when they found out Dustin was not only Tori's cousin, but an Al Bhed.

And... How Tori was supposed to die at the end of that journey.

But I think, the ones I hated most, besides the knowledge that she knew she was going to die, and didn't seem to do anything about it, were all my memories of Lothor. If he wasn't bad enough on earth, trying constantly to kill us, he was worse here, trying to take Tori for his own so he could use her power.

And he had almost succeeded.

All of my memories and pains were dragged back up when I saw that dress again, and it was all because the Aeons were back. That leads me to the other matter on my mind.

_How _and_ why_ are they back?

Love and faith? Or was it something else? Maybe I was being paranoid, but I worried. Last time, so much had happened, and in the end, I'd felt gypped by the Aeons when I returned to earth and Tori was forced to stay here.

To be honest, I didn't know if it was because they needed her, or what, but I knew now.

They needed her.

And I guess…I couldn't blame them. They were trying to save their world, and Tori was their best bet for that.

Still though, I couldn't help but still feel angry that we had been forced apart for two whole years. It felt like a freaking eternity! I felt like I was dying every single day!

Blinking, I shook myself out of my thoughts as we neared Cole's new Chocobo Ranch. I don't really know why, but we all chose to go see how he was doing.

Was it smart?

Probably not.

Did that stop us?

No.

…..Uh, let me rephrase that… _Hell_ no!

Heading to the Chocobo Ranch, we heard Cole ranting about something, and I sighed silently, wanting to bang my head on the wall as I realized something was likely wrong and he'd need our help…..again.

I couldn't be more excited. Not.

Walking into the dimly lit chocobo ranch, we watched a few random chocobos wandered back and forth, and Cole came running from the back of the ranch, stopping in front of Tori with a worried look.

"Lady Tori, what should I do?"

She looked confused for a moment before her mind kicked into gear and she nodded firmly. "What's wrong?"

Gesturing for us to follow him, he ran towards the back of the cavern to where a hole had recently opened up. Pointing to the hole, he grabbed the reins to one chocobo and pulled it away from the hole easily. "The chocobos found it. They seem to have scented one of their own kind!"

Frowning, I wondered how a bird could live under the ground in a cave like this. Chances of another exit were limited, and the air was stale. And to top it all off, what would they eat to stay alive?

"Well?" Cassie asked, turning to Tori.

Blinking in confusion, she turned around and cocked her head to the side. "Well, what?"

Making a face, Cassie gestured to Cole and deepened her voice as she began to mock him. "'I bet there's an amazing chocobo inside, but wimpy little me can't go and get it myself.' Is that it?" she asked as she turned to Cole.

Not even noticing her mocking, he nodded heartily. "Yes! That's exactly right!"

Snorting, she rolled her eyes. "See?"

With a sigh, we decided to jump into the hole and begin checking the place out. The fiends were a little tougher here, but luckily, this trainer dressphere seemed to be stronger. Ladon had some amazing attacks, and I found that I could also channel my thunder powers and use them.

I was a little freaked out at first, to find myself back in my ninja garb, but you wouldn't believe how much more comfortable I was in it. Then again, it was a little scary seeing Dustin in it. If it wasn't for his green eyes and spiraled pupils, I was sure I was seeing our Dustin again.

Freaky.

We ran down a long corridor, and found that it branched off in three different directions. Stopping for a moment, I listened to the others discuss splitting up before we quickly scrapped that idea. Even if it would help us find our way through this maze, we didn't want to weaken ourselves with these stronger fiends prowling around. Instead, we chose to go down the left corridor.

I got a little dizzy and annoyed after a while, but needless to say, we spent a good half a day in that damned cave, running around in circles. What we'd failed to realize before was, most of those corridors crossed into each other, and then broke off again. When I mentioned maze before, I didn't realize just how right I was.

But after about three hours of searching, I began to grow frustrated, and stalked off in a different direction from the others. I heard Tori call my name and knew they were following me, but was royally irritated and kept walking silently.

Did I know where I was going? No. But I kept going anyways. It was like I was being tugged in a certain direction, and I absently noted that it was like a very faint voice in my head that was leading me this way. I didn't know what it meant, but if it meant possibly getting out of here faster, I was willing to try anything.

Soon, we came to a thick closed door and stopped. It glowed brightly a moment before sliding up and revealing a chocobo that was slightly larger, and more golden than the others.

"Huh?" I questioned out loud upon seeing it.

Can we get on with our search for Zhane? asked Ifrit impatiently.

Blinking a moment, I realized it was the Aeons that had led me here, and that they had begun to talk to me as well. But...why?

There was an amused snort before Ixion's voice came ringing through my mind. Well, you _are_ a Summoner, are you not? it asked dryly.

Frowning a little, I guessed I was. Not wanting to focus on them at the moment, I focused my attention on the golden bird instead.

"So this is the amazing chocobo?" Tori asked quietly, sounding a little disappointed.

Cassie shrugged and smirked. "Looks pretty choco-boring."

"Well, it's choco-bolting!" Dustin cried as the chocobo ran past us and towards a long corridor.

That's when Cole appeared and ran in front of it. "Don't go!" he called as he held his hands out from his sides.

The chocobo stopped and slowly lowered it's neck for him to pet.

"Good girl." he crooned as he scratched her neck. "That's right. You don't have to be afraid as long as I'm here. Come home and live with me. I'll take you to your friends."

"Aw, they're choco-bonding." Dustin said with a grin as he watched them walk away.

Cassie shook her head and sighed. "Cole could be pretty amazing if he only learned to do things himself."

_They make a cute couple, don't you think?_

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Sorry for any spelling errors. I'm on my computer again and don't have a spell check.

Hope you like it.

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"Elder! Good news. Ronso children return to mountain."

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	46. Mt Gagazet

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : OMG! I'm getting close to the end! Wahhh! It's almost over!

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(Mt. Gagazet, Tori's POV)

Finally reaching Mt. Gagazet, I was worried as I entered the clearing. Many of the Ronso were still there, but there was no sight of Garik. I knew he still wanted revenge on the Guado, and a few of the younger generation followed him eagerly.

Seeing Kelk standing in the same place as usual, I frowned and walked over. Suddenly, Garik appeared, yelling at Kelk and we stopped to listen.

"Elder, what path should Ronso walk? Garik not know!"

"Garik must be patient." Kelk said gently as he looked to the younger Ronso.

Growling, Garik shook his head. "Garik feel hate, try to stop. But without path, hate is strong. Garik lost to hate. Garik rather unleash anger than go mad search for path Garik cannot find!"

"Kelk tell Garik many times. Force not solve problems."

"Then what good is power Ronso receive from mountain? Once Ronso train to defend Yevon sacred ground. But now, Summoners not come!"

_Oh, if only he knew._ I thought wryly with a smirk as I listened.

"Ronso power go to waste! Kelk true elder? Then Kelk answer Garik!"

Kelk was silent as he closed his eyes. That was all the answer Garik needed to smirk evilly.

"Kelk no elder." he spat venomously as he walked away and began to ascend the mountain.

"Tori see Kelk shame." he said deeply as he finally opened his eyes.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "No. Don't be ashamed."

"Yeah!" Dustin agreed with a furious nod. "Tori's right! Forget about that ogre!"

"Kelk is elder. Kelk must lead the way to Ronso future."

A female Ronso soon appeared in front of him, and bowed deeply. "Elder! Good news. Ronso children return to mountain."

Looking like he suddenly got an idea, Kelk walked forward as Lian and Ayde appeared. Standing in front of them, he nodded.

"We caused Elder Kelk much worry. But we could not find way to restore horn." Lian began, looking sad.

Ayde bowed and sighed. "We are sorry."

"No apologies." he said as he shook his head. "Lost Lian and Ayde trouble Kelk more than broken horn." Giving a Ronso fangy smile, he looked at them gently. "Lian and Ayde enjoy vast Spira?"

"Yes elder." Ayde said with a bow of his head. It was a little freaky to actually hear him talking, nice all I'd ever heard was grunts, but I kept my opinion to myself as I watched them talk. "Ayde did not want to return."

"Lian felt the same way. We saw today's Spira with our own eyes, and we fought deeply. We think about path to future Spira."

"We decided. We will journey again and meet many people." Ayde finished.

The two, with final bows to Kelk, turned and left the mountain to begin their second journey. After a moment, Kelk turned around, looking deep in thought.

"Kelk?" I questioned quietly, wondering what he was thinking about.

He nodded and looked to the path Garik had disappeared along. "Kelk decide." he said as he began the trek after the younger Ronso.

With a wordless look to the others, I nodded and we chased after him to make sure he was ok. We ran up the snowy mountain path and before long, found him facing off against an angry Garik.

"Garik no listen unless Kelk speak of Ronso future!" The younger Ronso spat upon seeing Kelk approach him. "Kelk unable to give answer Kelk does not have! Kelk not elder!"

Kelk said nothing as he walked past Garik and turned to block his way. This only served to get him punched in the face and he fell to his knees as Garik laughed.

"Can I hurt him?" Cassie asked angrily as she held the hilt of her sword angrily and glared at the impudent Ronso.

Seeing red, I slowly stood up from where I had crouched and began to slowly approach them, glaring the entire time at the young Ronso who had dared to hurt my friend.

"Ooh, now she's mad!" Dustin said with a raised eyebrow and grin.

"So be it." Kelk said quietly as he slowly stood up, causing me to stop in surprise. "Kelk teach Garik how to use force." Jumping forward, Kelk uppercut Garik, knocking him back and down.

"Hiyaaa!" Dustin cried in glee, jumping up as he pumped a fist into the air and laughed.

Glaring at Kelk, Garik snarled. "Elder use force? Force not solve problems! Kelk still have no answer!" he spat angrily.

"Silence!" Kelk spat as he glared down at the fallen Ronso. "Garik not think for himself! Beg Kelk for answer!"

Blinking in shock, I couldn't even move, and just stood there, staring silently.

"Garik not even pup!"

"What?!" Garik demanded in a rage.

Sighing, Kelk's eyes softened slightly. "Lian and Ayde make long journey. Find own path."

"So, Garik must settle Garik problems?" the younger Ronso asked unsurely, his anger too, melting away.

"Wrong. Garik not alone. Let us think together. Kelk is elder."

Sighing heavily, Garik nodded and looked to the ground. "Elder is right."

Helping him up from the ground, I watched in shock as Kelk pat him on the shoulder and grinned. Blinking for a moment, I tilted my head a little and narrowed my eyes in confusion.

"One Ronso problem, is problem for all. All Ronso problems is problems for one." Garik said with a thoughtful look.

"One day, the Ronso path will be clear. Of that, Kelk is certain."

(Mt. Gagazet, Fayth Scar at Night)

We were gathered with the Ronso at the center of the Fayth Scar, where a recently erected statue stood, of Kelk with his broken horn. It was a type of celebration, I guess, and most of the Ronso were smiling and happy.

Standing in front of the statue were Garik and Kelk, both taking in the fine Ronso craftsmanship.

"Maybe, it need horn?" the younger Ronso suggested quietly.

Shaking his head 'no', Kelk sighed. "Kelk think that looking at road ahead better than looking back on things lost. Kelk look to future."

Looking back up to the statue, Garik frowned a little in confusion. "Garik want to see that too."

"Ronso must look together, without fear!"

The other Ronso began to approach and they turned to them with more firm, authorative looks on their faces. "Honor to Ronso! Honor to mountain! Long live Elder Kelk!" Garik roared loudly with a low bow.

The rest of the Ronso began to roar as well. "Long live Kelk!" they chorused together, beginning to chant it over and over as they began their full celebration.

"'Better than looking back on things lost', he said." I murmured sadly to myself, thinking back to all those we had lost. Zach, whom I'd never really known. Cam, who was so much like our Cam, that when I found out he was unsent, it hurt me deeply. Two years later and I still can't believe I had to send him!

Chancing a glance to Blake, I noticed the sad look on his face, and wondered what he was thinking about. Was it his and Hunter's adoptive parents? Was it the fact that in a sense, we lost our friends when we came here? I mean, we had different versions of them here, but it wasn't the same.

"Ouch." Cassie winced, knowing those words had hit a soft spot with me.

Sighing, I shrugged and turned away. "Let's go." I said quietly.

"Uhh..." Cassie cleared her throat and I turned around to see her pointing to Dustin who was cheering with the Ronsos, and chanting 'long live Kelk' with them. "What about him?"

Raising an eyebrow, I laughed and called him over before waving to Kelk and heading to the nearest teleport sphere to take us back to the Celsius. We had now pretty much visited every place on Spiran, meaning... It was almost time for the final confrontation.

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Short chapter. Sorry folks. The next ones should be longer. The only place left for them to visit is the Farplane and they have yet to find Carlos and Marah, and confront Zhane. Hmmmm... Interesting for sure.

Hope you like it.

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Turning to the others, as bad as I felt, I giggled uncontrollably at the sight of them in their outfits.

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	47. Last of the Dark Aeons, FMp1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Full title is, Last of the Dark Aeons, Final Mission part 1. This fic is coming to a close. The final battle will soon be upon them.

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(Celsius)

Once we made it to the bridge, I was surprised to find the others standing there with huge grins on their faces. Adam stood to one side, Brother stood in front of the oscillo-finder, and Ethan stood on his other side, holding a sphere.

Blinking in surprise, I walked forward and stopped in front of them, tilting my head to the side as I clasped my hands behind my back. I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but before I could, Adam cut me off.

"A special bonus for the Gullwings!" he cheered as Ethan took a step forward and handed me the sphere.

Feeling my face heat up, I immediately recognized the one sphere I _never_ wanted to see again, and bit back a scowl as I forced a grin and bowed. "Thanks." I said in the sweetest tone I could as I kept grinning and held the sphere tightly.

Taking a deep breath, I placed the sphere on my Garment Grid and heard Dustin and Cassie's shocked protests when they realized what it was. But as quick as the protests came, they died out again. As much as we _seriously_ disliked this sphere, none of us really wanted to hurt their feelings by refusing it.

"Well, aren't you gonna try it on?" Adam demanded with a smirk.

Realizing he knew exactly how we felt about this sphere, and was teasing us about it, I was very tempted to change into it and throw him off the ship right afterwards, but not wanting to hurt _Ethan's_ feelings, I made my smile grow bigger and nodded. "Of course!" I said firmly between clenched teeth as I unclenched my fists and raised a shaking hand to my Garment Grid.

Hitting the button, I mentally vowed to get them back for this as the light surrounded me, and then I felt unbearable heat.

Opening my eyes after it was finished, I frowned behind the mask and sighed silently as Brother, Adam and Ethan all began to chuckle.

"They look great on you!" Brother exclaimed cheerily, no hint of joking evident on his face.

Ethan nodded and bit back his chuckles. "I...um, want one too?" he offered weakly. Sighing heavily, he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Besides their absurd appearance, they are extremely powerful."

_Nice to know_. I thought dryly. _Exactly how in the world is _this_ powerful?_ I mentally asked as I stared at the heavily gloved hands in front of me.

Yep, you might have guessed it, but we were in the Mascot Dressphere.

Looking down at myself, I was in a clunky white costume, and as I twisted my head to look over my shoulder, I made out a tiny pair of red wings on my back. Then I pulled off my mask and looked at the face that stared up at me with the red pompom on top of it.

Turning to the others, as bad as I felt, I giggled uncontrollably at the sight of them in their outfits.

Cassie was a Tonberry. A large green creature, that looked eerily like a turtle without it's shell, dressed in a long brown robe. In one hand, she held a small stuffed Cactuar, and in the other, her mask. Her face had a deep scowl but she refused to look at anything other than the floor. "Don't... Say... A word." she threatened lowly, making the guys gulp nervously.

Dustin was dressed as a Cait Sith. Simply put, he looked like a man sized black cat with white cheeks and belly, and a small crown on his head. In one hand, he held a stuffed pupu doll, a pupu being a small blue alien, and in the other, his mask as he stared at himself incredulously. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh while you can." he said with a glare to the others.

And Blake... Well, he reminded me of the same yellow birds people rode all the time. Yep, that's right. Blake was a chocobo! Complete with fluffy looking yellow feathers, and the tiny stubby tail on his back end. Looking at him as he pulled his mask off and stared blankly at it, I couldn't help but burst into laughter. I was laughing so hard, I had to drop my mask and hold my sides.

Hey, is it my fault he looked totally adorable?

Giving me a warning look, he smirked and shook his head. "Real funny... Miss Moogle." he said with a raised eyebrow to my outfit.

Once again being reminded of my own costume, I felt my face heating up and looked down at the bulky outfit. _I. Am. NEVER. Using this!_ I thought to myself as I quickly changed back into Gunner, followed by the others changing into their dresspheres, Blake back into Trainer. Turning to Blake, I offered him a cheeky grin and shrugged. "As deadly as I am cute." I said as I turned to Brother, Adam and Ethan.

Raising an eyebrow, I grinned wolfishly at them. "Thanks guys." I said in an overly sweet tone as I watched them back away nervously and babble on about how it was nothing, before they returned to their stations.

Walking over to Brother with a calm air around me, I watched as he nervously turned around and sighed. "Made up your mind? Where will you jump in?"

Jumping into the hole to get to the Farplane. Sighing, I realized I didn't really want to run into anyone at this point, so with a shrug, I made my decision. "We'll go to the Bevelle temple, and you can teleport us down to the sphere by the hole."

"You're really going in?" he insisted worriedly.

"Yep." I answered firmly as I turned to walk over to the others.

"The time for invasion has come!" he dramatically cried. "Sphere hunter team Gullwi... Hmm? Your Friendly Neigh... Huh?" Shaking his head, he jumped out of his seat and walked to the middle of the bridge. "What are we called now?"

"Does it really matter?" Ethan questioned from his seat.

"Good point." Brother mused before nodding. "Surging, Flapping, Neighboring Gullwings, attack!!"

We all just stood silently, blinking in surprise at his outburst. Then, Adam began to laugh.

"Whoa, such passion!" he cried with a dramatic look.

"Seriously!" Dustin muttered under his breath as his face turned red in embarrassment.

Cassie chuckled quietly and raised an eyebrow. "I'm so moved." she said in a tone that clearly stated she was only kidding.

Shaking my head, I sighed. "At any rate, let's go!"

"The Gullwings' last mission. Let's do it." Ethan said with a quiet sigh.

Turning to the boy, I looked at him sadly. He seemed so disappointed for some reason, and I think it's because we grew close. Not romantic close, but more...family close. I kind of saw him as a little brother. As much as he could be a pain at times, he was always looking out for me.

"Hey, hey, hey! None of this 'last mission' business, you hear?" Adam scolded quietly.

"For me..." He shrugged and got out of his seat. "It probably will be."

For all his looks, he was still just a kid. We'd dragged him into more than enough danger, and it was time for him to live his own life. I understood completely. Besides, he'd mentioned something about meeting up with some old friends named Kira, her boyfriend, Trent, and Conner.

"Be careful." he said as he walked up to me.

Bending down a bit, I offered him a hug and sighed. "I'll be fine. We're just going to talk, after all." I tried to insist, though I _knew_ there'd be more to it than that.

Pulling away, I turned to the others and stuck my hand out. "T!"

Dustin walked up, looking grim for once, and nodded as he placed his hand over mine. "D!"

Cassie sighed and looked to us before walking over and placing her hand over ours, giving us fond smiles. "C!"

Then, I turned to Blake, who looked back at me with confusion. Brother got the hint and walked over to him, pushing him over and telling him to do what we did. Looking a little confused, Blake placed his hand over ours and gave a small smile. "B!"

With a determined nod, I turned to the others. "Gullwings..."

"Let's rock!" we all chorused together as we threw our hands into the air.

(Bevelle Temple)

Entering Bevelle Temple, we headed into the Chamber of the Fayth and exchanged looks before jumping down the massive hole. Unlike last time, I didn't end up blacking out to wake up in a field of flowers. This time, we landed, hard, on a rocky path that led through the darkness in a slight downward descent.

It was so dark. The only way any of us could see, was the navy blue lights that lit up the path. Unfortunately, it also lit up the number of unusual fiends that roamed the area.

Starting at a trot, we ran down the path, battling any fiends that attacked us, and made it to the bottom of the first part, out of breath and a little worse for wear. Luckily, Dustin changed into White Mage and cast curas, second level healing spells, on us all. It drained a good portion of his magic, but using one elixir to replenish it was preferred to using a good ten hi-potions to heal ourselves.

Looking forward, I noticed with a little uncertainty, that the path ended with a drop off. Only this drop off led to nothing but endless blackness below, and not a lower ledge. On the other side, was a large round, rocky platform, that seemed suspended in mid air, and had absolutely no fiends around it what-so-ever.

Obviously, it was a trap, and _something_ had to be there, but it was the only way to continue on, so we had no choice.

Backing up a few paces, I ran forward and jumped across the ledge, easily making it to the other side. Looking back, I noticed the others had followed me and all made it, and we turned to continue on.

Unfortunately, as we made it halfway across the platform, the temperature suddenly dropped a great deal, and wind began to blow as snow fell from the sky. The tinkling of ice could be heard, and we all looked up to see Shiva appear and begin to descend.

Like the other Dark Aeons, she was a dull grey color, and her eyes were black, radiating an unusual rage as she finally touched the ground.

Ice began to form on the path, and I took a step back as she threw off her cloak and glared at us, waiting for us to make the first move.

She, too, has been corrupted by his rage. Valefor spoke quietly in my mind.

It seemed, she could hear his words, because her expression grew darker, and she raised her hand into the air, ice forming at her fingertips as she threw it forward. We all jumped out of the way, and I slowly stood up, hitting the button on my Garment Grid to change into Black Mage.

Dustin followed me, and together, we charged up powerful firagas as Blake distracted her with Ladon's lightning breath, and Cassie ran behind her to attack with her sword.

Shiva, an ice elemental, and weak against fire.

Blasting our attacks out together, we hit her hard, sending her flying back and knocking her to the ground. With a wordless groan, she slowly stood back up, and glared at us as she cast another blizzaga, which hit Dustin and knocked him to the edge of the platform, out cold.

"Dustin!" I cried. Turning back to Shiva, I felt my eyes narrow as I charged up another firaga. I wanted to help him, but Aeons were very fast, and if I tried, she'd no doubt get in a few hits before I could succeed. Casting my firaga, I watched helplessly as Blake too, got knocked back and out.

With a glare, I dug through my pouch and came out with a mega-phoenix. Throwing it into the air, I watched as it glowed a bright orange and burst into sparkling flame, as the flames fell onto us and revived and healed Dustin and Blake.

Shaking his head, Blake stood up, he called Ladon to his shoulders as he closed his eyes and seemed to focus on his powers. He began to glow a deep navy blue and raised his hand slowly as Ladon flew into the air, glowing crimson. Opening his eyes, he smirked at Shiva. "Power of Thunder!" he called as Ladon unleashed his attack, and their lightning attacks combined into one, hitting her dead in the center of the chest, and knocking her down.

This time, the attacks seemed to be enough, and we watched as she faded away. I gasped as I felt another presence join the ones in my mind, and saw Blake fall to his knees as he clutched his chest.

Running over, I pulled out a mega-potion and helped him over to where Cassie was checking out Dustin, before throwing it on the ground and breathing in the mist, healing all our wounds up completely.

"Is it me, or are these guys getting stronger?" Cassie panted as she stood up and sheathed her sword.

Frowning, I shook my head. "They're getting stronger, and we still have two more to go." Seeing their incredulous looks, I shrugged and gave a sheepish smile. "Anima and Magus Sisters."

I watched as Blake's face paled at the mention of Anima. No doubt, he was remembering just how powerful it was the last time we fought it, and that it was tied to Lothor. I could easily understand how he felt, and shuddered a bit as I forced myself to focus on the present situation.

Once we were all healed up, and changed into our normal dresspheres, we walked across the large platform and jumped across another drop off to another long, twisting path that led into the darkness. Running down it, we encountered more giant turtle-like fiends, as well as demonic looking fiends.

It took us a little longer until we reached the second platform, and this one didn't have a drop off on either side. As we rushed onto the platform, and began to cross it.

Once we got half way, there was a strange giggle and a buzzing sound in the darkness, and I stopped, grabbing my guns and looking around. Three figures appeared, as a wind began to blow, and flower petals fluttered through the air. One was a young girl with a humanoid body and the abdomen of a bee, wings and antenna. The second was a tall, slender woman with a curvy human body, and the appendages of a grasshopper. And the final was a plump young woman with the shelled wings of a lady bug, and antenna.

Gasping a little, I took a step back. "Don't let them surround us!" I called to the others.

"Who are these…uhh…" Blake shook his head and frowned, trying to figure out what the hell they were.

"The Magus Sisters!" _And one of the most powerful Aeons. We're gonna need some help._ Closing my eyes, I quickly changed into my Summoner Garb. "Blake, Summon something!"

Focusing deeply, I looked for the familiar presence. _Hear my prayer._ Finding it, I smirked. _Bahamut!_

There was a powerful surge of energy, and I felt his presence nearby. Opening my eyes, I watched as he soared out of the sky to land harshly in front of me.

Then, there was the sound of something like bells, and I turned to find Yojimbo approaching Blake slowly, with Diagoro at his side. Blake seemed to look at the Aeon a moment, silently, before nodded with a grateful look and turning to the Magus Sisters. "Yojimbo, Zantetsu!"

The large mercenary Aeon pulled out a large katana, and took a step forward. Changing his hold on it, he ran forward at a lightning fast pace, and took out the plump Aeon, watching in satisfaction as she slumped over and faded away.

Raising an eyebrow, I grinned a little. _One-hit kills. Cool!_ "Bahamut, Impulse!" I called, watching as the four black energy orbs appeared around him and he thrust his arms and wings forward, shooting the orbs at the remaining Aeons, and hitting them straight on.

"Holy!" Dustin cried, and I spun to watch as a circle of white balls of light descended from the sky and surrounded the little girl Aeon. Then, the lights burst into beams of energy that shot through the Aeon, impaling her over and over before they dissipated.

"Flamesword!" Cassie called as she rushed forward with her sword coated in fire and slashed the other Aeon across the midsection.

"Bahamut!" I felt his energy peak and smirked. "Mega Flare attack!"

Roaring loudly, he jumped into the air and flipped, landing on all fours and digging his claws into the ground as the wheel on his back began to spin faster and faster. Opening his mouth, a ball of light appeared and shot out in a beam of energy to envelope the Aeons, raising them into the air as explosions occurred.

As they dropped back down, the little girl collapsed and faded away, leaving one of the Sisters left, and she was very weak.

Turning to look at Blake, I watched as he thanked and dismissed Yojimbo before raising his hand and having Ladon use his lightning breath.

The final Magus Sister fell to the ground and faded away, and we ran to the other side of the platform as it began to shake violently underneath us. Thanking Bahamut, I dismissed him as we ran, and most of us just barely made it to the other side before the platform collapsed under us.

Unfortunately, I wasn't used to the long skirt anymore, and tripped at the last second. I managed to jump, and Blake turned, reaching out his hand to grab mine and pull me safely to the other side. Closing my eyes tightly as I crashed into his warm body, we fell to the ground and lay there as I tried to catch my breath and hastily changed back into Gunner.

"Looks like you keep on saving me." I mentioned with a blush as I pulled away and slowly stood up.

Chuckling a little, I noticed him blushing too. "Well, I can't have anything happen to my princess." He quipped with a grin.

I felt my heart melt at that comment, but hid it behind a raised eyebrow. "Oh, my hero!" I cried dramatically, throwing my hands into the air and running forward to jump into his arms with a girly squeal.

I heard Dustin and Cassie laughing behind us, but ignored them as I took a step back and gave Blake a quick, chaste kiss. "Oh whatever would I do without my knight in shining armor??" I asked with dramatic horror as I skipped away giggling.

We laughed a while as we continued on. Soon enough, we came to a third platform and I frowned as I stopped and crossed my arms over my chest. "Didn't we Deja this vu already?" I whined out loud.

"You think…?" Blake didn't even have to finish his question before he groaned and shook his head.

Cassie looked between us and then to the platform below us, and back to where the platform above us once stood. "Let me guess-"

"No need." Dustin interrupted with a roll of his eyes. "One platform left, and one Aeon left."

It was true. On the other side of the final platform, I could make out a large, familiar field of blue and purple flowers and a light mist. This, was just the path to the Farplane. What lay in front of us, was the Farplane itself, but that portal I remember watching Zhane open, was to the Heart of the Farplane, and probably the resting place of Vegnagun.

So far, the path had been heavily guarded, and I had no doubt that the last Aeon to free from Zhane's rage, Anima, waited there for us.

Walking onto the final platform, we warily kept our eyes open for the appearance of the last Aeon. We didn't have to wait long before a large hook flew down from the sky and imbedded itself in the ground, sinking deeper and deeper for a moment before stopping. Watching with baited breath, the hook slowly began to pull back up, and Anima was slowly revealed.

Closing my eyes, I heaved a mental sigh and grabbed my guns as I raced forward. Taking aim, I stopped and charged a Trigger Happy, unleashing it and noting briefly that Blake had used Ladon's lightning breath, and Dustin had thrown a grenade. Then, a flock of falcons circled around Anima, scratching it with their talons before flying off and I turned to find Cassie in her Trainer dressphere.

Watching as Anima struck forward with a free claw, and hit Blake hard, I frowned. This was supposedly one of the toughest Aeons and we'd need all the power we could get. If only we had access to our zords here, but I knew we didn't, so we'd have to make due.

Raising my hand out in front of me, I glared at Anima as I morphed. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" Then, I raised my hands in front of me and focused deep in my heart for my power. Feeling the energy, and seeing the faint blue glow of it, I concentrated it on the Dark Aeon. "Power of water!"

A large stream of water hit Anima and knocked it back a bit from the sheer force. Then, a lightning attack hit it and knocked it back a little more.

Unfortunately, I wasn't standing far enough back, and when Anima unexpectedly swiped forward with it's claw, I was hit dead in the center of my chest, and sent flying. Pain coursed through my body and I gasped for air as I lay on the ground, unable to move. It felt like I was on fire! My body changed between burning and numb, and I noticed my vision getting blurry.

"Tori!"

I couldn't make out who'd called my name. Blinking, I closed my eyes tightly and let a pained groan escape my lips as I tried to sit up and failed. The sound of something near me caught my attention, and I grabbed for my ninja sword, but a warm hand on mine stopped me.

Looking up, I blinked again and noticed the blurry form of someone in a navy outfit, similar to mine. I knew that Blake was the only other person here who could morph, so it had to be him, but… When did he have time to morph?

There was a sound of something snapping, and a slight weight was lifted off my shoulders. I noticed my vision got the tiniest bit clearer and watched as the form of Blake dropped something on the ground and a mist floated up from it.

Suddenly, I felt a strange warmth run through me, and recognized it as a mega-potion. Inhaling deeply, I noticed the pain and blurriness disappear and I felt fully rejuvenated. Standing up, I gave Blake a shaky smile and took my helmet back, snapping it back in place before grabbing my ninja sword.

"Together this time." Blake said from beside me as he pulled out his thunder staff.

We charged together and used our ninja streaking to give us a speed advantage. Striking it over and over again, I let the idea sink in that the others had weakened it considerably since I was injured.

As we raced away to take a brief break, Dustin ran forward and swiped at Anima with his daggers, and Cassie followed suit with another flock of falcons.

Then, Anima collapsed and faded away and Blake and I powered down as the faint image of Wakka, Bahamut's Fayth, appeared.

"Tori. I'm sorry." He said with a bow of his head and a sad look. "We weren't strong enough to stop him. We wanted to at least warn someone…but instead, we were dragged into the darkness. Possessed by his hatred. We're no better than fiends."

Shaking my head, I gave him a small smile. I'd watched two of my friends get possessed by Zhane's hatred, and I too, was almost forced to shoot them because of his tricks. I couldn't blame the Aeons. It really wasn't their fault. "It's all right."

"Forgive us." He said, yet again, still not looking consoled.

Clasping my hands behind my back, I pursed my lips. "Please. Tell me. What is he?"

_Zhane is no ordinary unsent!_

Dustin's words rang clearly in my head, and I knew that he was right. Unsents didn't have the power to do things like this. And normally, they turned into fiends. But if Zhane wasn't an unsent, then what was he?

"Zhane?" Wakka watched as I nodded and sighed. "Just a shadow. It may look like him, but the real Zhane died long ago."

In the machina war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. One thousand years ago. With Karone.

"Even after a thousand years, his hate and misery linger on. His feelings grew so strong, they began to act on their own… Eventually, they became a shadow, a shade that wants only to vanish, but cannot."

"Just a shadow." I repeated quietly to myself. Smiling, I felt Karone's longing and closed my eyes, knowing I was going to do whatever it took to reunite them. "I can handle a shadow."

"Are you sure?" Wakka asked unsurely as he disappeared from the scene and I felt the last Aeon bond with me.

I nodded. "I'll banish shadow with light."

"Light?" Dustin asked in confusion.

My smile grew as Cassie nodded in understanding. "Karone's feelings." She answered for him.

I nodded again. "That's right. Call it…love."

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Don't ask me about the 'princess' part and 'knight in shining armor'. I was feeling dramatic and don't really know why I added it. The déjà vu part was something I read in another fic once, a long time ago, and I loved the sentence.

Hope you like it.

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"Marah!"

"I got…careless."

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R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi


	48. Finding Carlos and Marah, FMp2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : The next few chapters will all be labeled something with a 'FMp' afterwards. That's because, on Spira, these last chapters are all about the 'Gullwings' Final Mission'. So, this full chapter Title is 'Finding Marah and Carlos, Final mission part 2'.

I'm breaking it into multichapters the best I can, because if I left it as one, it could stand as a fic on it's own and would be impossibly long. They all take place in the Farplane, and there will likely be two or three dealing with Zhane and Vegnagun.

Hope you like this.

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(Farplane Abyss, Field of Flowers)

A blinding flash surrounded us, and I cried out in surprise as I closed my eyes tightly. Sensing as it faded, I opened them again to find us all standing in the center of the field of flowers, only this time, the sky around us was light and clear.

Looking around, we began to trudge through the amazing land, taking a brief respite and enjoying the relaxing aura of this place.

Then, to my surprise, I noticed three all too familiar figures standing at the edge of the ominous orange glowing portal.

Cassidy and her henchmen.

"Hey!" Dustin cried, getting their attention as we walked over to them.

"Hmph." Cassidy grunted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You certainly took your sweet time."

Oh, I _so_ didn't want to get into this at the moment! Letting her comment slide, I looked at them in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Skull sighed. "Because the boss never goes against Lord Carlos' wishes."

"You found him?" Cassie asked, perking up a little.

"As we was headin' in, we found a sphere addressed to the boss." Bulk explained.

Sighing dreamily, Cassidy nodded. "He said, 'Don't follow me. Turn back now and wait for my return'."

Cassie raised an eyebrow at this. "Actually doing what you're told?" Grinning a little, she nodded. "How novel."

"What can I say?" she asked with another dreamy sigh. "One look at Carlos-baby's dashing visage on the sphere, and I was charmed! How can I say no to such a kyootzie-wootzie face?" Suddenly looking worried, she frowned. "What if he-"

"Don't worry." Dustin cut her off with a small smile. "If he knows you're waiting, then he has a reason to come home."

"And wait I shall!" she responded firmly.

"We'll tell him you're waiting like a good girl." He added with a grin.

"You do that, love." She said haughtily. "And don't forget to stress 'good girl'."

Heading through the portal, we entered the Heart of the Farplane. If the scene we saw before was beautiful, the scene was saw now was…well….odd. Everything looked to be made of machina, and an eerie gray sky lay overhead. The smell of stale air and rust floated through the area, and what looked like electric barriers would activate and deactivate in timed intervals.

Even the road we traveled on was machina.

Walking along it, we had to dodge and hide from a strange fiend. It was massive, but not as big as Vegnagun. Having four legs on the ground, and two arms that waved around frantically, it roared as it hobbled on, seemingly not seeing us.

But that wasn't the only kind of fiend there. There were large turtle-like fiends, dark elementals, strange black wolves and more. If I thought the fiends on the path to the Farplane were strong looking, these looked impossible to beat, and I was a little afraid to try.

So we snuck our way through. Coming to the first barrier, we stopped and watched as the two rods on either side of the path rose, and an electrical barrier formed. Then, after a few minutes, they sank back down and it deactivated, but only for a minute.

That meant, we had to time ourselves carefully.

Explaining the plan to the others, we agreed to run through, one at a time, once the barrier was deactivated. We couldn't decide, however, who was going to go first. So, as the others tried to figure out a way to decide fairly, I took it upon myself to sneak away and wait until the barrier was down before running through.

"Tori!"

Turning around with a grin, it faded quickly as I saw a look of terror cross Blake's face, which was quickly mirrored by the others as they turned to see what was going on.

"What? I made it through safely." I said with a confused look at their wide, terrified eyes.

Shaking his head, Blake raised his arm slowly, which I noted was shaking, and pointed to something behind me. "No, you didn't." he said hoarsely.

Feeling my own eyes widen, I slowly turned around and gasped as I saw one of those massive fiends directly behind me. "Oh." Apparently, I'd failed to notice it crossing the path when I ran through the barrier, and I had attracted it's attention. "Hi." I said shakily with a meek wave as the monster roared and glared down at me.

"Tor, run!" Blake screamed from behind me.

Without turning around, I nodded. "K. Bye."

Racing off, I hoped the others would be ok. But I couldn't stand there and try to fight it. With the barrier behind me, only one of them would be able to come through at a time, and that thing looked strong enough to rip me to shreds with one swipe of it's massive arm.

Looking over my shoulder, I watched as it chased me for a bit, but I ran around a corner and quickly jumped down to a lower path, hiding under it, so that I was out of sight of that large monster.

Waiting a few moments, I closed my eyes tightly and opened them after taking a deep breath. Grabbing the bottom edge of the higher path, I slowly pulled myself up and looked around just over the edge. Luckily, there was no sight of the monster, but in it's place, many of the smaller, but still really powerful looking fiends stood in it's wake.

With a silent groan and a roll of my eyes, I looked to the path I was on and noticed that it slowly disappeared around a bend ahead of me, ascending at a slight pace.

"Well, I don't really have a choice." I muttered to myself as I began to walk along the path. Frowning, I wondered if the others were ok, and prayed they were. I realized it was dumb of me to run through the barrier like that, without checking to see if the coast was clear, but… I wondered. If any of the others had done it, even if they had checked, would they have been in the same position?

Walking along the path, I came to another barrier and gulped nervously as I waited for it to deactivate. Once it did, I raced through it, only to bump into a warm surface.

"Whoa!"

Two hands grabbed mine and held me firmly until I got my balance back. Once I did, I looked up and gasped in relief to see Dustin, but then I frowned in worry when I noticed he was alone.

As if seeing my confused and worried look, he shrugged apologetically. "We got separated. After that thing appeared behind you, we decided it was best that once we each got through the barrier, we'd go ahead and meet up later."

Nodding a bit, I offered a small smile. Meanwhile, my heart was clenching painfully in worry as I thought about Blake and Cassie.

We continued along another path, avoiding the fiends that roamed freely, and soon ran into Cassie. She looked a little beat up, but smiled warmly at seeing us. Handing her a hi-potion, I looked around with a worried frown, wondering where Blake was.

_Please be safe._ I prayed silently.

With a heavy sigh, we continued along the ascending path until we came to a giant barrier that was permanently deactivated. Running through it, I gasped in a mixture of happiness and worry.

There was Blake.

With Marah.

…and Marah looked like she was hurt.

"Marah!" Dustin exclaimed as he ran up to her.

I embraced Blake tightly as he offered her a hi-potion to heal her wounds. "I was so worried." I muttered, only loud enough for him to hear.

Sighing heavily as we pulled apart, Marah offered a pained smile, her wounds not completely healed. "I got…careless." she said with a slight groan and a small smirk.

"Are you all right?" Cassie asked as Marah leaned back against the machina wall.

Laughing a little she nodded. "I could use…a nap."

"Where's Carlos?" I asked worriedly as I looked around and noticed he wasn't there.

Shrugging, she winced and pointed to the long, twisting path that led up to a giant barrier, much larger than any we had seen so far. "He went ahead." She said grimly.

Frowning, I knew that barrier was the last before Vegnagun. I didn't know how, but it was almost like I could sense Zhane's presence on the other side.

"Guess she couldn't stay away." Dustin mumbled looking over his shoulder, back the way we had come.

Frowning, I cocked my head to the side. _She?_ Looking in the same direction, I didn't know whether to smile or frown.

It was Cassidy, with Bulk and Skull.

"I never said _where_ I would wait." she said haughtily as she approached.

"Well…" Nodding to Marah, I looked back at her firmly. "Then please, take care of Marah."

Glaring at me, she huffed angrily. "You dare give me an order?"

Cassie sighed and rolled her eyes before smirking almost evilly. "Look, we'll tell Carlos you're waiting like a 'good girl' and doing your part for the team."

Blinking a moment, I tried to figure out what she was planning. Then, I saw the dreamy look on Cassidy's face and bit back my giggles. _That was evil!_ I thought to myself. Playing on Cassidy's weakness to get her to cooperate.

"All right. I'm in." Cassidy agreed easily with a pleasant smile.

"Hey."

We all turned to Marah as she pulled out a sphere and held it up for Cassie to take. "Dr. C. A gift from Carlos." She said with a small smile.

Taking the sphere slowly, Cassie nodded and lowered her arm.

"Said it was from two years ago. It was still inside the sphere camera."

"I'll watch it later."

Shaking my head, I sighed and smiled. "Hey. You should watch it now." Seeing her confused look, I shrugged. "Think about it. You won't be able to fight your best as long as it's on your mind." I finished softly.

Nodding, she gave a small smile and held up the sphere for us all to see. "You're right." Hitting the button on the top, we all quieted down to watch.

The image was on a boat, gliding softly over the calm waters. Then, the camera turned to view Carlos, Marah and T.J. standing by the rail.

"Whaddaya got in mind for fun?" Marah asked as she turned and looked at the others. Turning to the camera, she shrugged and smirked. "Any ideas, Dr. C?"

"Me?" Cassie's voice asked curiously from behind the camera. Sighing a little, the camera moved to point to the sky. "A ship that glides through the air." The camera turned back down to face Marah. "That thing you mentioned before. If it's for real, I wanna fly it."

T.J. chuckled and bowed his head as he turned to look at me. "You get to be pilot then." he said with a warm smile. Placing a hand on his chin, he seemed to think for a minute. "And maybe I'll try my hand at navigation." he mused out loud.

Marah jumped away from the railing and raised a hand into the air with a grin. "I get to be the engineer!" she called excitedly.

"Carlos?" T.J. questioned, turning to face the man who hobbled along with a cane.

The camera moved a bit, and I guessed that Cassie had shrugged. "Captain." she said easily, making it more of a statement than a question.

"Ah, that's perfect." T.J. agreed with a smile and a nod.

Chuckling a little, Carlos raised an eyebrow at him. "You'd let an amateur be captain?" he questioned almost challengingly.

Marah laughed and shook her head as she walked over to him. Slapping him lightly on the back, she grinned up at his startled face. "Ah, chill out, Carlos. All you gotta do is shut up and look important, and you'll fit the part." She said through her giggles.

"Like a glove." Cassie added as she too began to laugh.

Mock glaring at them, Carlos shook his head and pointed to each of them, one at a time. "I'll work you like dogs!" he threatened jokingly.

Everyone began to laugh and the sphere went blank.

Looking at it almost sadly, Cassie sighed. "What happened to that Cassie, I wonder." she mused out loud.

"She's inside you, sleeping." I said softly, with a fond smile.

Dustin shook his head and raised his arm into the air. "Well wakey, wakey! Time to set sail!" he commanded with a grin.

Nodding, I turned to her and gave her a determined look. "Your captain and your navigator are waiting!"

Once we got Marah to agree to stay behind, where it was safe, we ran over to a small platform and hopped on. We'd planned to try hopping across them, but as soon as I stood on the center of it, it amazingly began to move on it's own, floating over to another platform.

We repeated this process with many of the platforms, before learning that a few went in the wrong direction. Finally managing to make it across to the other side, we ran up to the barrier, and watched in shock as it deactivated before us.

"Well… _That_ was unexpected." I said out loud as I warily walked through.

Blake shrugged and followed me, and we made it to the edge of the long, twisting path that would take us to Vegnagun.

And surprise, surprise. There it was. On the other side of the long path, in the distance, sat a giant machina that strangely, almost resembled a butterfly. The only different was that it had a long tail and a gaping maw.

"I got a hunch, that once we go on ahead, there's no turning back." Dustin said nervously.

"A hunch?" Cassie asked incredulously.

I raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Cassie looked to me and Blake before shrugging and sighing. "A hunch it is then."

Running up the path, it was a little worrisome when I noticed there were no other fiends around. I knew we all planned to destroy the machina, and I'm sure it knew too, so why wasn't it running?

That's when I noticed it's tail slither around a large platform and raise into the air. The body shook and the legs moved slightly, seemingly to stabilize it's hold on the said platform.

"It's moving!" I cried. That meant, Carlos must already be there. That, or Zhane was getting ready to use it to destroy Spira.

We kept running up the path, and hopped across many smaller platforms before landing on a large one by Vegnagun's chest, surprisingly, it was also the same one Carlos was on.

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See? If I'd left this as one chapter, it would probably be three times as long as it is now. LOL.

Hope you like it.

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"I don't like your plan. It sucks."

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R+R please.

Thank you everyone.

Tenshi


	49. Vegnagun, FMp3

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Is this the final chapter with Vegnagun? Who knows? Well, I do. LOL. Kidding. But seriously…

Dun, Dun, DUNNNN!

Special guest appearances! Yay! Well, voice appearances anyways, since they're actually sent, so…

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Without even turning around, Carlos sighed and lowered his head a little. "Both T.J. and Vegnagun belong to him now." he said quietly.

"Zhane…" I muttered sadly. How could this get so bad?

We watched as T.J's body twisted around to look at us before turning back and beginning to play the organ that sat on the top of Vegnagun's head. Only, you could see the ghost of Zhane sitting there as well, pyreflies swarming around their bodies.

"I have a plan." Carlos continued, still not turning to face us. "Can't call it a smart one, though."

"What's that?" Dustin asked curiously.

"He acts through another's body. Stop the body and you stop him." Sighing heavily, his head drooped even more, and he seemed reluctant to say what he was about to say next. "I'll shoot T.J."

"No!" Dustin cried, his eyes growing wide.

I felt my eyes grow wide as well, and Cassie looked ready to faint. Blake was pale, but was also glaring at Carlos' back, and Carlos… Well, he continued to explain, as if not realizing our response to his plan.

"His body will be useless, but if we're lucky, he won't die. Zhane will abandon T.J. and he'll come back for me."

Cassie opened and closed her mouth a few times, a deep frown on her face as her eyes glistened with tears. "What then?" she asked shakily as she closed her eyes tightly, already knowing the answer.

"I will die."

The way he said it, it was like he didn't care. But then again, he didn't get the name Deathseeker for nothing. Maybe he really _didn't_ care if he died, but I certainly did. I was so tired of people killing themselves. They never thought their plans through and sometimes took stupid actions for no reason.

I mean, even if he did die… What was to stop Zhane from using Cassie, Dustin, or even me? For some reason, Zhane didn't seem able to possess Blake, and I think it was because he was still in _his_ body from earth. I was me, but I was in Spiran Tori's body, making me vulnerable to things like this.

But my point is… What's to stop him from using someone else?

"My body has already been rigged. I'm taking Zhane with me." he said tightly.

"Carlos…" I whispered quietly.

"But…" Cassie shook her head and took a step forward, raising her arm as if to try and stop him. "You're our captain."

"Exactly." he said grimly.

Shaking my head violently, I frowned deeply and took a step forward, glaring at Carlos' back. "I don't like your plan. It sucks." I said softly. It felt strange to talk like this, after two years of letting people do what they wanted, but I was so tired of useless death!

Carlos spun around in shock and gaped at me. Cassie and Dustin also gaped silently in shock, but Blake… He was smiling with a look of pride and agreement, as if to say 'that's my girl!'.

"Your plan is awful!" I said, louder than before. Holding my hand to my chest, I took a deep breath and fought off the tears that threatened my eyes as I remembered back to the day I had to kill the Aeons, send Cam, and watch Blake disappear, two years ago. "Think about it. It's no different from what we did two years ago."

_We made stupid, rash decisions!_

"We destroyed our own allies." I felt the pain of the Aeons and shuddered as a sob wracked me, but refused to cry. "We destroyed the Aeons who had fought together with us, at our sides. We didn't have a choice then, we believed that was the only way we could save Spira."

_But was it? Was there really no other way?_

"Do you know what it felt like, to watch them die? Right before my eyes?"

_I felt like I was dying inside. I felt like a murderer, killing my friends._

"It was the only thing we could do. It was the only choice we had." I nodded, but still felt awful. "I gave in, I accepted, I believed." Shaking my head, I sighed and closed my eyes tightly, feeling a tear streak down my cheek. "I allowed it to be true."

_But I never asked why. Why did I allow it? Why didn't I find another way?_

"I thought I'd be able to go through with it without ever doubting myself. But I… It's hurts so much." More tears fell and I sniffed with a sad smile.

Wakka's voice rang out loud, faint but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Forgive us."

"Everyone was so happy. 'Great job, Tori. You did it. You saved us all'." Looking to Blake, I let out more tears before looking to the ground, remembering the pain I felt when he disappeared. He had been gone for two years, and I had begun to give up hope of ever seeing him again.

He looked back at me with the same sad look, obviously remembering the same thing as me. He looked so sad and helpless.

_Not until the end… Always._

_I love you._

He'd given up everything to come back to me. His home, his career, our friends… And his big brother, his remaining family. I knew it hurt him. It hurt me to see him this way, and if I'd had my choice, I would've prevented him from coming back, just so he could be with them.

But would he really have been happy?

"There were too many smiles to count, and I know…that I was smiling too. But now, when I look back…The people who should've been there, weren't. The ones who should've been smiling with me, weren't there!" _And, aren't here._

_This is your world now._

I clearly remembered the sad look on Cam's face as he faded into pyreflies, and Spiran Tori's memories of her father surfaced.

Her father's voice rang through the air sadly. "We had no choice."

Shaking my head, I lowered my hand from my chest and frowned. " 'We had no choice'. Always, 'We had no choice'." I said in a robotic tone, beginning to hate those words. "We say them again and again, but you know… The magic never worked! The only thing we're left with is regret."

Her father's voice seemed more sympathetic now, and a little stronger. "Tori… I'm sorry."

"No." I said softly, feeling my heart clench painfully.

_There's another way. There _has_ to be another way!_

"I don't want this anymore." Smiling a little, I looked into Carlos' sad eyes before switching my gaze to the others, noticing that Cassie and Dustin looked horribly sad, and Blake looked ready to collapse. His pain practically radiated from his body, and he refused to lift his gaze from the ground to look at anyone. At his sides, his fists were clenched tightly, and he shook slightly.

"I don't want friends to die…or fade away. I don't want battles where we have to lose in order to win." Looking back to Carlos, I pleaded with him. "Carlos, I know that what you say is what you mean to do. Give me your resolve. Believe in me."

_Trust me._

"Hmm… So you have a plan?" he asked reluctantly.

Cassie looked at me. "Light?" she asked softly.

"That's plan B, but first…" Turning to Dustin, I nodded. "Hey, Dustin. No matter how monstrous it looks, Vegnagun is still just a machina. So we can take it apart, right?"

He placed a hand on his chin and seemed to think about it. "Uh, yeah… Uh, maybe?" he offered hesitantly.

"You never used to be the think-before-you-act-type." A voice called out, and we turned to find Marah walking towards us with a smirk, Cassidy and her goons following after her. "What gives?"

"Cassidy!" Carlos called out in shock, seeing her walk forward with a raised eyebrow.

Shrugging, she smirked. "And I never was the wait-like-a-good-girl type, isn't that right, Carlos?"

Looking confused, he remained silent as he observed everyone.

"Vegnagun can be destroyed. Abso-posi-you better believe it! You know why?" Marah said firmly.

Dustin smiled and nodded as he pumped a fist into the air. "'Cause _people_ built it!"

"Right!" I agreed, glancing to Blake to see that he was looking more composed and ready to fight. "All right everyone! It looks like we can stop that thing after all!"

Suddenly, Vegnagun began to shake violently and moved a little further away. It was obviously reacting to our feelings and plans.

Laughing, Bulk held his stomach and grinned at the monstrous machina. "Now it's pissed!"

"Witless little widget, isn't it?" Skull asked with a sneer.

"What about Zhane?" Carlos asked me.

Grinning, I nodded and placed my hand lightly over my Songstress Dressphere. "Plan B."

"Oh?"

"Love." I said simply.

Rolling her eyes, Marah shook her head. "Nuu puo! (Hoo boy!)"

"The ultimate illusion." Carlos said with a shake of his head.

"It'll work!" I insisted. "I've come this far to bring Karone's feelings to Zhane. I'm not stopping now!"

Cassidy sighed dreamily and looked towards the sky. "The power of love conquers all! So romantic! Count me in!" she said in a dreamy tone.

Suddenly, the shaking grew worse, and Vegnagun slowly moved to stand up on the platform. It became so bad, that we had to move off the platform and run back to the main path to avoid falling into a bottomless abyss with the rest of the debris that made up the platform we had been standing on.

Then, I heard three familiar voices of the long since departed.

"It's just bluffing!" Jecht called.

Cam's voice called next. "This relic's getting rusty!"

"Tori, you have your friends!" Spiran Tori's father called.

Thinking of a plan, I nodded determinedly to myself and turned back to the others. "If we all attack at once, we can do this! We need to split up!"

"Leave the legs to us!" Cassidy instructed, pointing her fan to one of Vegnagun's legs.

Carlos nodded and exchanged a glance with Marah. "We've got the torso!"

Turning to the others, I nodded. "And that leaves the tail!"

Once everyone agreed, it was time. The final battle was about to begin. "Okay, let's go!" I called as we rushed up to the different platforms and split up.

Running up to a small platform where the tail was swinging above, we readied ourselves for battle. The first thing I did was pull Blake aside and sigh.

"Vegnagun's too powerful. I think we're gonna need to morph." I said quietly.

He shot an uncertain glance to Marah and Cassidy's groups and frowned. "Well, I dunno."

"This is Spira." I reminded him. "The rules are different here."

Nodding hesitantly, he gave a small smile. "You really felt that way?"

Blinking in confusion, I was trying to figure out what he meant, but a second later, and he shook his head.

"Never mind. Now's not the time to be talking about that. Let's do it!"

With a firm nod, I moved to his side and we both raised our morphers.

"Ninja Storm!"

"Thunder Storm!"

"Ranger Form! HA!"

Once we were morphed, I grabbed my Ninja sword. "Ninja Sword, gold mode!" I called as my sword began to glow brightly. Running forward, I jumped high into the air and slashed the top of the tail on my way down.

"Thunder staff, full power!" Blake called, charging forward to slice at the bottom of the tail.

Cassie changed into her Trainer and used Flurry to attack. "Flurry, shield!" she called as Flurry created a powerful shield all around us.

Dustin ran forward with his twin daggers and sliced at the tail furiously before running back.

Raising my hands in front of me, I focused my energies and aimed at the tail. "Power of water!"

"Power of thunder!" Blake echoed as he shot his energy at the tail.

Shaking violently, the tail swung low at us. It hit Dustin and Cassie, knocking them back a ways, but Blake and I jumped and flipped over it. Once we landed, we combined our attacks again.

"Flurry, flock!" Cassie called as she slowly stood up. A large flock of falcons flew through a portal and swarmed around the tail, scratching it repeatedly.

With a final shake, the tail collapsed and laid motionless on the ground.

"One down." I murmured quietly to myself.

"What's next?" Cassie asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Looking around, Dustin's eyes widened and he pointed over a ways. "Tori, they're in trouble!"

As I looked over, I noticed Cassidy with Bulk and Skull, having trouble weakening the leg. Both Bulk and Skull were on their knees, clutching at wounds, and Cassidy was barely standing, but the leg stomped on the platform harshly, and the resulting force knocked her to her knees.

"Let's go!" I called, running over to them.

"Boss! Let's get the heck outta here!" Bulk called weakly.

Cassidy frowned and glared at him. "You want to get the heel?" she snarled.

"You can 'heel' us when we get home." Skull said with worry.

As we approached, them, Cassidy looked at me in surprise and confusion. "Who're you?" she demanded suspiciously.

"It's me." I said as we stopped right behind them.

Shaking her head, her gaze traveled to where Marah and Carlos seemed to be having trouble. "I'll leave this one to you. I'm going to cheer Carlos-baby on!"

"Got it!"

Once they ran off, I raced forward and drenched the leg with my water powers, before Blake followed suit with his thunder powers. With a frown, I hesitated on my next move and avoided getting hit by missiles that shot from openings in the leg. _I know I need all the strength I have, but… Which is more powerful? My Ranger powers, or my Summoner dressphere?_

Feeling around on my Garment Grid, I closed my eyes and concentrated on each of the dresspheres. _Songstress… Useless. Vegnagun's impervious to status inflicting attacks. Thief, Gun Mage, Trainer and Warrior, not strong enough. Black Mage… Well, I can use water in my morphed form, and Blake thunder, which is stronger than any single spell I can cast. Mascot… Uh, no. I don't think so. Likely not strong enough anyways._ I blushed as I my hand brushed the dressphere, and I continued on,

Then, my eyes shot open and I gasped silently. I had the perfect dressphere, but would it work? It was stronger than any other dressphere, my Summoner, and my morph, but it would take a lot of energy to use it. But I wouldn't be able to use it when I confronted Zhane because I'd need to use my Songstress.

So, I guess, I had no choice, really.

Powering down, I gave Blake a smirk and pressed the button on my Garment Grid as Cassie and Dustin distracted the leg. Feeling the surge of power, I almost cried out in shock. I'd never felt anything like it before!

Light blinded me, and I closed my eyes tightly. Feeling myself rotate in the air, something covered my body in a tight cocoon, almost like a second skin. I curled up on myself, and felt faint.

Then, something felt like it was surrounding my and I took a deep breath as I thrust my body straight, standing in mid air. Opening my eyes, I looked down at myself and found myself attached to a large light blue flower, with vines coming from the center of it and circling around my waist to hold me in place. I was wearing a revealing white dress, and my hair fluttered around my face, which, with a shock, I noticed was white.

Closing my eyes again, I raised one white gloved hand into the air slowly. "Sometimes a power too great to be bridled can only be set free." I murmured quietly as I opened my eyes and thrust my hand forward.

Three circular disks shot forward and sliced deeply into the leg, injuring it badly. Then, I focused on draining energy from it, and one of the vines wrapped around my waist, unwrapped itself and shot towards the leg, wrapping around it and causing it to glow white as the energy seeped into me.

I noticed Blake staring at me in his trainer, his jaw dropped and his eyes wide. _What?_ I mentally questioned, seeing his awed gaze. Blinking for a moment, I giggled and shook my head, turning back to the fight.

Cassie had transformed into her Full Throttle dressphere, almost looking like a bird with a body and wings made up of swords and daggers.

Dustin had changed into his Machina Maw and was shooting volleys of missiles at the leg.

And I was in Floral Fallal.

Combining our powerful attacks, the leg of Vegnagun soon fell and we changed back into our regular dresspheres before taking a deep breath and healing up.

"Look!"

Everyone turned and Dustin's cry and saw that Carlos and Marah were in deep trouble. They were barely conscious and the body was still going strong.

Cassie turned back to use and gave us a worried frown. "I'm going."

Running up the path, we soon found Bulk and Skull too weak to make it all the way up to Vegnagun's body. They were on their knees and panting as they stared worriedly up to where Cassidy was with the others. Hearing us approach, they turned around and pleaded with us.

"Please…" Skull breathed weakly.

Bulk pointed to Cassidy. "Help the boss."

"The Gullwings are on it!" I said firmly as we raced past them and to the torso.

When they saw us, Carlos, Marah and Cassidy ran off with nods and grateful smiles as we took their places and got ready for battle.

_It's time._ I thought warily as I grabbed my guns. Morphing and my Floral Fallal were out of the question at the moment, but Summoner was still available. Still, I wanted to wait a bit before using it. I didn't know how Zhane would react to a Summoner, after Karone. It could work as an advantage, or as a disadvantage.

Aiming my guns at the glowing core of the torso, I let lose a volley of shots that hit on the mark and backed up to avoid one of the blasts of energy shot at us.

It seemed that the others had done a good job at weakening the core, because it blinked with a dark light, erratically. It looked ready to quit, and Vegnagun's massive body shuddered each time it was hit again.

Blake used Ladon's lightning breath on it, and the electrical surge went through the whole body of the giant machina. Then, Dustin threw a grenade, and it shuddered even more violently.

Finally, Cassie used Flurry to attack, and the body gave an even more violent shudder before stopping moving very suddenly. Was it over already?

The shuddering grew worse, and the body began to collapse. Running back a few feet with the others, we watched as Vegnagun collapsed, falling off the giant platform, until the head landed, with a loud bang, on it. Now, Vegnagun was only supported by it's head, and we stared in shock.

Was it finally done? Had we defeated Vegnagun?

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Well, is it done? Did they finally defeat Vegnagun, or am I being a pain by saving the rest for the next chapter? LOL. Either way, you'll soon find out. ANNNND, either way, the next chapter will be called Vegnagun, FMp4. So you won't be able to tell THAT way! LOL

Awww! (sniffs and wipes away a tear) I love that speech Tori made. I always loved that speech since I heard it in the game.

Hope you like it.

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"Karone?"

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Please R+R. All comments are appreciated.

Thank you everyone for your encouragement.

Tenshi.


	50. Vegnagun, FMp4

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Muahahahaha! The last chapter was NOT the end of Vegnagun! The only way to find out, is to read on. (Grins evilly)

**JuseaPeterson - **Sorry… It's not the end of him juuuust yet. LOL. I think you'll like this chapter.

And the part about Blake… when he gets injured, and Tori's feelings on it, was not in the script. I made it up to try and add a little more feeling into the chapter, and make it a bit longer.

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"What now?" Cassie asked quietly, watching the machina warily for any sign of life.

Dustin looked all over the machina and frowned with a hand on his chin. "Maybe…. We're finished?" he asked skeptically.

From his seat atop Vegnagun, T.J. spun around to face them, Zhane's ghost showing clearly. Giving a purely evil smirk, he chuckled quietly. "Finished indeed!" he spat before turning back around and beginning to play a different tune on the organ.

"T.J.!" Carlos called from a little ways behind us.

"All of Spira is finished!" he cackled in the eerie double voice of Zhane and T.J.

Shuddering violently, Vegnagun's mouth opened, and a giant canon shot forth. It was easily big enough to destroy all of Spira with one blast, and we jumped aside, to avoid being knocked off the platform into the endless abyss below.

"He's got a plan B, too!" Dustin whined as he stood back up.

"He's panicking!" Cam's voice cried in the otherwise silent air. "Tori, end it now!"

(Blake's POV)

Watching Tori, I silently wondered if she'd even heard his voice for a moment. She stood there, silently regarding the massive machina. But then, her face hardened into a fierce determination and she nodded before taking a step forward.

To be honest, I was kind of worried. I knew what was coming. After the battle, Tori was going to try and act like Karone. She'd have to tell him Karone's feelings as if they were her own.

She'd have to say 'I love you' to him.

I felt jealousy rear it's ugly head, but deep down inside, I knew she loved me, not him. I knew it was crazy to be jealous over something like this. She didn't love him, she was just trying to save him. Save him, Karone, and all of Spira.

"All right!" she called in a voice that rang of bravery I didn't feel. "This is it, everybody! Stay focused!"

She ran over to a rung on the side of the canon and lifted herself up onto the top of it, the rest of us following. Running along the top of the massive weapon, we made a B-line to Vegnagun's head. As we reached it, the path below us smoothed out, and two massive tentacles grew from it's mouth, swinging almost hypnotically back and forth, as if warning us to stay away.

There was also another core. It was protected by seemingly nothing, but I think we all knew better. Those machina tentacles were it's guardians, and I doubted they'd be easy to beat.

Watching the others, I didn't have a clue where to even begin.

That is… Until I saw Tori change into her Summoner.

With a determined nod, I closed my eyes and focused on an Aeon. I knew Tori would chose Bahamut. That seemed to be her personal favorite. But I needed to chose the strongest of the ones left.

Sensing their presences, I felt Anima and decided on it. Out of all of them, besides Yojimbo, it was the strongest.

_Come to me, Anima!_ I called mentally, feeling it's presence grow stronger and more solid.

As I opened my eyes, I saw the Aeon appear as it usually did and ordered it to attack. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, there was a flash of several dark balls of energy that hit the head at the same time, and I turned to find Bahamut standing next to Tori.

I got a little worried, seeing the pain in Tori's eyes, but I figured it was from having to keep fighting this thing, and what we all knew would be coming next.

Cassie had changed into her black mage, and had shot a wateraga at the core, as Dustin followed suit, casting a Thundaga on one of the tentacles. They took turns rapidly casting spells at the tentacles and head for a while as Tori and I used our Aeons.

Then it was Vegnagun's turn, and I stared in shock as one of the tentacles floated in the air menacingly. It suddenly straightened out, and shot forward, impaling Anima through the chest, like a dagger.

With a pained scream, Anima hunched over as the tentacle withdrew, and soon faded away into pyreflies. Standing there mutely for a second, I wondered how a hit like that was powerful enough to kill an Aeon with one hit. But then again, Vegnagun was similar to Sin, and was very powerful.

Unfortunately, because I was standing there, not paying attention to what was happening, I didn't see what came next.

I didn't see the second tentacle.

I didn't notice as it, too, sharpened like the other, or as it shot towards me.

"BLAKE!!"

Blinking in surprise, I jumped a bit and spun my head to Tori, who was looking at something behind me in horror. Turning my head slowly, I only managed to catch a brief glimpse of the machina tentacle as it shot towards me.

I don't know if I was lucky, or what, but when I'd jumped, I'd jumped a bit to the left, and the tentacle that was originally aiming for my heart, hit me in the shoulder instead. Still, it was incredibly painful and I screamed in pain as I felt myself being thrown back by the force.

But then, the tentacle seemed to slip out of my body. I was too numb to move or counter attack. I couldn't even breath. I felt the warm wetness running down my chest from the wound, but couldn't make a sound.

That's when I realized _why_ the tentacle had slipped from my body.

I'd been knocked over the edge of the canon. Over the edge, where there was no platform to land on. I could only watch silently as tears streamed down Tori's face, before the canon blocked her out of my view and I finally felt nothing.

Blackness overcame me, but quickly fled as I noticed a dim light shining around my body.

It's not over yet. It's not your time. An unfamiliar voice said softly into my ear.

I still couldn't move, but I knew there was nothing there. There was nothing anywhere around me, only an endless, black void.

You can't die!

_Who are you?_

My body was turning cold and it was hard to breath. No, it was painful. I could feel my heart skipping beats and slowing. Then, I felt a warm sensation on my chest, and looked down to see a pale, slim hand over the wound.

Strangely enough, the hand seemed to glow, and the blood refused to stick to it.

A warmth spread through me and I closed my eyes a moment, relishing how the pain seemed to dissipate. When I opened them again, I saw a familiar blonde woman leaning over me. But… She was see through. A ghost, I guess, or perhaps, an unsent?

She giggled and shook her head. You are doing so much to help me. I will do whatever I can to help you, too. she said softly with a warm smile. Sighing sadly, she looked up and I followed her gaze to see a faint light and what looked like the underside of the platform we were all on. Had I really fallen so far? I didn't even notice. Zhane has changed so much, but it's not his fault. He needs to understand, and only she can do it.

Nodding to myself, I felt very tired all of a sudden and couldn't keep my eyes open. Letting them close, I watched as she slowly faded from view and the light that surrounded my body, grew brighter.

Rest. You will see her again.

The feeling of falling had changed to one of floating, and I finally let myself drift off, mentally thanking Karone for her help.

(Tori's POV)

When Blake was hit, and knocked off the canon, I lost it. I was torn between jumping after him, and making Vegnagun pay. As much as I wanted to jump after him, I hesitated, only because I knew so many lives depended on me stopping this thing.

So, here it was. The needs of the many outweighing the needs of one.

I've given up so much. Was it really too much to ask that Blake and I can be happy?

He's not gone.

Not even hearing the words, I took a single step towards the edge of the canon, where Blake had fallen. _Screw the needs of the many! The only thing I care about is Blake!_ I thought as tears flowed down my cheeks._ He can't be gone! No…_

But then, my body froze, refusing to let me jump, and I felt another presence.

He is _not_ gone! You have to keep fighting!

"Karone?"

It sure sounded like her. But… Why was she contacting me now?

Shaking my head, my gaze turned uncertainly, back to Vegnagun, and I watched as a glowing figure ordered Bahamut to attack the giant machina.

I can't hold my power for long. Please, they need you! 

Frowning, I slowly walked back over to Bahamut and glared at the machina. Though Zhane was controlling it, I knew I didn't blame him. As angry as I was, as absolutely, royally _pissed_ as I was, my anger was directed at that giant piece-of-shit machina.

I felt Bahamut's energies soar with my rage, and Karone's presence fade. Glaring at Vegnagun, I took a deep breath. "Bahamut, Mega Flare attack!" I ordered calmly.

Using his strongest attack, Bahamut managed to badly damage the head, and sparks of electricity shot around it's eyes and the core.

Cassie quickly followed up with another wateraga and Dustin finished the combination attack with a Thundaga, doing mega damage to the metal face of it.

Vegnagun gave a violent jerk, and the eyes stopped glowing as the core grew smaller and slowly imploded. We'd done it. We'd finally beat Vegnagun.

_But…_ Looking back over the edge, I let more tears slip and closed my eyes tightly as I choked back a sob. _At what cost? _Out of all the things I would've give up, Blake wasn't one of them.

Changing into my Songstress dressphere, I forced my painful feelings aside and took a step forward as T.J. came down from the seat, Zhane's image clearly showing anger at having been stopped.

That's when he saw me and his eyes widened. I knew he was seeing Karone, and not me, and it was a little unnerving, having him stand there, gazing at me so lovingly, but I steeled myself and gave a small, tentative smile. "Zhane." I said softly, hoping this guise would work.

"Karone?" he asked unsurely, taking a step closer.

Swallowing the large lump that had formed in my throat, I sighed silently. _I'm sorry Blake._ "There's something I must tell you." Taking the words directly from the song, I blinked back my tears. "Words left unspoken for a thousand years." Pausing a moment, I gathered my strength to keep my act up. "I love you." _I'm so sorry Blake. I don't love him._ "And I'm grateful…" _I love _you! "Grateful that you stayed with me until the end."

"But I couldn't _save_ you!" he cried desperately, the hate fading from his eyes, being replaced by sadness and longing.

"It doesn't matter." I said sincerely, feeling my heart beat painfully. "Please… Don't go on grieving alone!" Closing my eyes, I felt Karone's presence within me again. "Rest." I almost whispered, hearing her voice speaking with mine.

Taking a few steps forward, Zhane's spirit faded from T.J's body and walked forward until he was only a few feet away from me. Coming to his senses, T.J. shook his head and blinked in confusion, until Marah and Carlos ran forward and pulled him carefully away from all of us.

"We can finally fade…" He raised a hand and held it out towards me, and I involuntarily flinched back a little. "Together?"

Now I was at a loss for words and looked to the ground uncertainly.

It seemed, that was all it took to break the trance and for Zhane to see that I wasn't really Karone. His eyes hardened and a slight growl escaped his lips, making my head shoot up in surprise as he glared angrily at me. "No." he said painfully, taking two steps back.

"Wait!" I called desperately, trying to talk some sense into him.

But… He wouldn't listen. "You are _not_ Karone!" he yelled, drawing a sword from behind his back and becoming solid as he took a defensive stand. Suddenly leaping forward, he swung at me, and since I didn't expect it, I wasn't able to dodge it. I could only watch in shock as it closed in on my neck.

Then, a sword seemed to appear in front of me, and an almost deafening ring of metal on metal was heard.

Looking to my left in shock, I cried out happily to see the familiar black hair and eyes.

"Blake!" I called out in relief.

Glaring at Zhane, Blake snarled. "You _won't _hurt her!" he growled as he pushed the blade back roughly and counterattacked, catching Zhane off balance and knocking him back a few feet. Running forward, he swung again, but this time, Zhane was prepared and blocked his blow.

That's when I jumped into action. Changing into my Gunner, I grabbed my guns and took aim, firing at him and causing him to jump back, swinging his blade wildly in every direction to block the shots.

_Ok, this is gonna be harder than I thought._ I thought dryly. _He's fast!_

Cassie changed into Gunner as well, and charged up a Trigger Happy and firing at him.

Quickly doing the same, I fired my shots a second after hers, timing myself so I would catch him off guard and he wouldn't be able to block.

As my shots hit him and knocked him down to one knee, Dustin ran behind him and unleashed several grenades, but Zhane jumped high into the air and landed a little ways away. Then, he ran at us, swinging wildly in his rage as he tried to kill us.

Cassie fired another Trigger Happy, me following a split second after her, and most of our shots hit him.

Blake charged forward once we were done and attacked with amazing grace, swinging his sword at Zhane. The unsent managed to block the hit, but he wasn't expecting Blake to kick him hard, and stumbled back, clutching his stomach with a grimace.

Dustin changed into warrior and attacked Zhane from behind, and I quickly did the same, trying to combine our attacks to catch him off guard and overwhelm him. With three of us attacking from different angles, and Cassie shooting from yet another angle, Zhane was easily overpowered, and we watched as he fell to his knees, panting and glaring at the ground as his sword disappeared into a ball of pyreflies.

That's when Blake looked at me and gestured in Zhane's direction with his head. Giving a small nod, I took a couple of steps forward.

"Zhane…"

"Don't tell me you understand!" he spat angrily, still not looking up.

_But I do! I do understand what it's like to lose the one you love!_ Tears welled up in my eyes as I remembered Blake fading away and my pain for two years, constantly wondering if he'd ever come back.

Suddenly, I felt like I was being torn in two, and closed my eyes tightly as I felt something pull away from my body. When I opened them again, Karone was standing in front of me, walking slowly and hesitantly to Zhane. His figure faded back into a ghost and she stopped in front of him.

As his head shot up, his eyes widened a moment before narrowing suspiciously. Glaring at what he suspected was another trick, he lifted his hand and swung at the figure, but to his obvious surprise, she caught his hand in both of her own and held it against her chest with a warm smile.

Glistening tears formed in his eyes as he stared into her baby blue eyes longingly. "Karone?" he asked on a hoarse voice.

"Hi there." she said with a warm smile, full of love. Looking down at him, she bent down and kissed his forehead lightly, and I almost jumped to feel two arms wrap around me.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw a content smile on Blake's face and I leaned back into his embrace, relishing the fact that he was alive and with me. That Zhane and Karone had been reunited, and we were all ok.

"A thousand years, and this moment is all we get?" Zhane asked sadly. Shaking his head, he raised his other arm and placed it on Karone's hip as she let go of his hand and placed hers on his shoulders.

Shaking her own head, she chuckled slightly. "This moment's enough. I don't need anything else. Just knowing how you felt is enough. Zhane, let's end this. Let's go _home_." She pleaded gently.

"Can we?" he asked doubtfully. The look in his eyes… It was obvious he felt that his actions would keep him from being able to rest with her, but… No one blamed him. I felt it. No one blamed him for this.

"That was all a thousand years ago." Karone said softly. "We've come too far to look back now. Rest, Zhane. Rest with me."

Leaning against her waist, Zhane hugged her tightly, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, and Karone readily returned the hug, leaning over and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Let's go. I have a new song for you." She said with a grin as she giggled a bit. Turning to us, her grin turned into a wide smile. "Thank you." She said quietly.

Nodding to her, I felt my own smile tug at my lips and a few tears fell from my eyes.

Slowly fading away from view, I was sure everyone could see the smiles on their faces, and feel the happiness radiating from them. Knowing Vegnagun was gone, and that Zhane would no longer torture Spira, my friends and I turned and made our way out of the Farplane.

I was a bit disappointed that we were still in Spira, but something told me… I had a strange feeling, that something big was going to happen soon.

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Yay!!! Vegnagun's no more! And Zhane and Karone are happily reunited! Woo-hoo! (grins and jumps around excitedly)

So….Wonder what happens next. Hmmm… There's a bit more to the script, but the ending's going to be my work totally, and I STILL have no idea how to end it. I know it's going to tie into the Interludes, and be happy, but getting them back to earth… Hmmm…. I'll have to figure that out.

Hope you like it.

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"She left a message! She said she's going home! So farewell, but not goodbye!"

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Heh… the above quote might or might not be misleading. You'll see. (Grins)

R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	51. Goodbye Spira

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm almost done.

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(Luca, Normal POV)

Looking out over the overflowing stadium in the center of Luca, Carlos, T.J, and Marah stood soberly, watching as the crowd cheered for them, wildly. With long sighs, and weary glances to each other, they began their speech.

Carlos was the first up to the microphone and looked out over the crowd before beginning his speech. "Once, my friends and I dreamed of flying. We would sail a ship, with me as it's captain. In time, I became that captain. I found a new ship with new friends. My ship, was the Youth League."

The crowd cheered wildly and waved their arms as they regarded their newly found leader.

As he stepped back, T.J. stepped forward and bowed ever so slightly. "Others chose a different captain. Their boat was New Yevon."

Different people in the crowd began to applaud politely, but their faces were full of interest at what was going on.

"You know." Marah walked up to the microphone with a winning smile. "I realize I'm like a lot of you people. We all want a captain. And we want a ship to ride. But more important than that…" She paused and looked out over the crowd with a shrug. "Really, we all want to ride together."

The roar through the stadium was almost deafening at this point. Marah moved back, and T.J. stepped forward again, looking almost grim.

"There are some things you can't so alone, but they become easier with friends by your side."

Carlos leaned in and nodded. "This was the lesson that we learned when we launched those ships."

"It was power." T.J. agreed quietly. "And we misused that power. We turned our follower and friends against each other."

"Forgive us." Carlos said as all three of them bowed deeply.

The crowd was silent for a moment before they began to boo and give dissatisfied responses.

T.J. raised his hand, and everyone quieted down. "Somehow we forgot. There's a much larger ship out there. One we've been riding on since the day we were born. That ship, is Spira."

Seeming appeased, the crowd began to cheer and clap wildly.

"Holding up both her hands, Marah smiled as everyone quieted down. "Just one more thing! We all owe thanks to a very special lady!" As he crowd's cried grew even more deafening, her smile turned to a grin and she nodded. "Yeah, that's right. You all know who I'm talkin' about. We really hoped she could be here today…"

**Flashback**

The three leaders of Spira were standing on the dock as Tori swayed with her back to them. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she was staring at her friends for a moment. Then, she spun around, grinning broadly.

"It's time for me to go home!" she said happily as she turned and ran towards the others, giving Dustin and Cassie high fives, and hugging Blake tightly.

That's right. She was returning to Besaid to take up a semi-normal life, now that Spira was safe again.

**End Flashback**

"She left a message. She said she's going home. So farewell, but not goodbye!" Marah said with a warm smile.

Suddenly, an engine was heard, and everyone's heads turned to find the Celsius lifting off from nearby, four lone figures standing on the upper deck. The coms on the ship crackled to life, and everyone heard Brother's overly happy voice.

"See you next time, kiddies! Yeehaw!"

The airship flew out of sight, leaving behind the thunderous applause of the crowds, and the three smiling faces of the newly reunited friends.

(Celsius)

On the upper deck of the Celsius, Tori was being held by Blake, and Dustin and Cassie were on their knees behind them as the ship soared up into the air. Tori and Blake would've likely been on their knees too, as gravity was heavier up there, but holding each other, they were able to withstand it.

"Did we really have to leave like this?" Dustin whined to Cassie. "Think of the party we're missing!"

Laughing, Cassie shook her head and raised her eyebrow, pointing into Dustin's face. "I think we party enough, don't you?"

Dustin nodded with a laugh.

Tori laughed as well, enjoying the feeling of peace as the wind blew through her hair. "Brother, higher!" she called excitedly.

"Roger!" he called back cheerily as the ship began to ascend even more.

Finally falling to her knees, Tori laughed and shook her head, Turning to look at Blake who was also on his knees and laughing. "Brother, faster!" she called again.

"Rogerrr!" he replied.

Shaking her head, she turned to the front in a fit of giggles. "I can't hear you!"

"Rogerrrrrrrr!" he cried even louder.

Watching the sky, Tori sighed happily.

_So much has happened. And I'm sure it's only the beginning. Through the smiles and tears, through the anger…and the laughter that follows… I know I'll keep changing. This is my story. It'll be a good one!_

(Tori's POV)

((A/N : Ok, to make this note short, I'm trying to remember what I can of the show and I found some of the quotes online to use. More in the end notes of the next chapter))

There was a strange tugging sensation, and my morpher cackled a bit. Looking down in surprise and confusion, I sat up on my knees and turned to see Blake looking at me with the same expression. "Uhh… Did you just hear-"

"Yeah, that's what I said." came an all too familiar voice from my morpher, cutting me off.

"Ok, I _so_ didn't need this today!"

Blake gasped and his eyes went wide, filling with tears. "Bro?"

Grabbing my morpher quickly, I hit the button on the communicator. "Cam? Hunter? Guys, can you hear me?"

There was silence for a moment, and I frowned, thinking that either it was a figment of my imagination, or that we'd missed our chance to talk to them. Then, a shout made me wince in surprise.

"TORI?!?!"

I felt my own eyes welling up with tears and nodded. "Yeah, it's me." I said quietly.

Blake grabbed his own morpher and nearly screamed into it. "BRO!"

"BLAKE!! Oh my god! Is it really you bro??"

It's time.

Blinking back my tears, my head spun to see Wakka standing behind me with the Fayth of the other Aeons. Yuna, Lulu, Rikku, Tidus, Auron, and even Cam, all stood together, and behind them, Cassie and Dustin stared in mute shock.

"Bro??" the voice on the other end grew pleading when there was no answer.

"Time?" I questioned out loud.

Wakka nodded. Time for you to go home. He said with a warm smile, echoing my words from earlier.

Stand together and hold on to each other tightly. Yuna instructed.

Doing as they said, I stood and wrapped my arms around Blake's waist as he wrapped his around my shoulders. _We're really going home?_

You will also have access to our powers on your world. Lulu said with a nod. Your faith has given us the strength to continue, but on this world, our powers are too dangerous.

I felt a strange tingling sensation, and closed my eyes as a bright flash of light burst out around us. "Thank you everyone!" I called, knowing this was my last chance to say goodbye.

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Yay! They're going home. Hmmm…wonder if Hunter's gonna kill Blake for running off like that? LOL. Well, you'll have to see.

You know, it just hit me... How is Blake gonna explain to Roger how he took off for that time, and how he just seemed to vanish? LOL. Well, he's raced for two years... I kinda have a plan.

Hope you like it.

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"It was Dustin and Shane. It seems, somehow, Lothor got them under his control"

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R+R please!

Thank you.

Tenshi


	52. A Not so Welcome, Welcome

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok, from now on, I'm not working with any script. Well, I wonder how this is going to go…

I still have a _ton_ of ideas for Power rangers fics, as well as an idea for yet another NS fic. I may give a try for Fruits Basket, but first, more Power Rangers Ninja Storm. 

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(Back on earth)

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing on solid ground, clinging to Blake tightly. Looking around, we stood in the center of a large forest. A way too familiar forest.

But… As familiar as it seemed, I couldn't place where from. I'd really been away, way too long.

"This is…" Blake looked around as we hesitantly let go of each other. "This is near the Wind Academy."

Gasping, I raised a hand to my chest, an unconscious habit I'd formed, and looked around. He was right. This was near the waterfall that led to the academy. Then, I realized I was touching a different material from what I normally wore.

Looking down, I gasped again to see the familiar light blue material of the top I was wearing, two years ago, when I'd been taken to Spira. And, my hair was blowing in my face, but… It was long again! Reaching my hand up, I ran it through my long blonde tresses in shock. I was me again. No longer living in the body of Spiran Tori, but really _me_!

Then, I looked at Blake and smiled. He was wearing a jean jacket with a black top underneath, and his blue jeans.

"We're home." I said quietly.

He looked at me and smiled. Leaning forward, he picked me up and spun me around, making us both laugh. "We are! We're really home!" he cried. Then, his eyes caught on something and he stopped. Putting me down, he took my right hand and brought it forward, bringing my attention to the bracelet on it.

My Garment Grid.

His attention turned to his belt, and he saw that he, too, still had his. "What's this?"

Mental laughter reached our ears. We did say you'd have our powers. We forgot to mention you'd also have yours.

Feeling my eyes widen, my morpher crackled again, startling us both.

"Blake, Tori! Where are you? I'm reading your signatures close, but I can't pinpoint them." Cam's voice called.

This made me frown. "Cam, we're not far from the Academy." I said as my eyes narrowed in confusion. Why couldn't he pinpoint us?

There was a heavy sigh from the other end. "You guys better get to Ops. We have a problem." He said grimly.

I don't know about Blake, but my joy at having returned home, had faded at hearing those words. Fight, fight, fight. That's all we do. What I wouldn't give to just be able to relax.

Sighing heavily, I nodded to Blake. "All right. We're on our way."

Running through the woods, we soon stopped in shock when we noticed the smoking pile of debris that was obviously the remains of a newly built Wind Ninja Academy. We walked through it silently, noticing the lack of students, and I groaned. "Oh god. Not again!"

"What the hell happened?" Blake demanded.

"It was Dustin and Shane. It seems, somehow, Lothor got them under his control."

Turning around, my eyes widened to see Cam walking towards us in his black robes with green trim and the traditional Samurai badge of his chest. Forgetting myself, I ran towards him and enveloped him into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you again, too, Tori." Cam said lightly, returning the hug.

"Yeah, it's nice and all, but can my bro have his girlfriend back?"

I jumped apart from Cam, only to see Hunter walking over in the robes of the Thunder Ninja head Sensei. He was grinning, but it was shadowed by the overwhelming relief that crossed his face to see us _both_ back.

"Bro!" Blake took off running and leapt at his brother. Hugging him tightly, he wasn't able to see the relieved smile on Hunter's face as he easily returned the hug, but I did.

"Everyone was torn apart when you guys disappeared." Cam said softly, wrapping a hand around my shoulders. "Hunter managed all right, because Blake came back, but then he left again. It was hell." The last part was said with a roll of his eyes and a dry tone before he chuckled and shook his head. "It's good to have you both back." He said louder.

"Especially now." Hunter grumbled with a glare to the ground.

That's when Cam's words hit me and I frowned. "Dustin… And Shane…" Turning to Cam, I tilted my head a bit to the side. "What did you mean 'he got them under his control'? And Lothor's back? I thought you guys beat him." There was a little pain and guilt for not having been around to help at that time, but I pushed it aside to focus on the current threat.

Sighing, Cam nodded. "I don't know how. Somehow, Lothor escaped from the Abyss of evil and came back. I think his power comes from the dark power disks he gave to them. They're in Reefside now."

"I heard that one of the students found a scroll hanging in the woods, and it asked for them to meet with Sensei Watanabi. But Sensei was no where to be found." Hunter added as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Cam nodded. "And they came back shortly after with Lothor and a bunch of kelzacks. They trashed the academy, captured the students and left."

"And we just found their morpher signatures in Reefside."

I nodded as I took this all in and frowned deeper. "And why couldn't you pinpoint our morphers?" I asked Cam.

He looked confused and pulled my hand to examine my morpher. "Somehow, the energies they're giving off are different."

Looking to Blake, I gave a small smile. "Probably the work of the Fayth. They gave us back our powers, so they probably had to do something to our morphers."

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Hunter held up his hands in shock. Turning to his brother, he looked confused. "I can understand Tori still having her powers. She wasn't here to have them drained."

I felt another pang of guilt and frowned.

"But yours were."

Sighing, Blake nodded. "Yeah. But when I went back, they came back. I dunno if they'll still work here, but they did there."

They will work here too.

Blinking in surprise, I nodded. "So, what do we do?"

"We have to find a way to stop Dustin and Shane, and the only way I can think of, is to go back to the Abyss of Evil to find our powers." Cam answered grimly.

"Are you nuts?!" Blake yelled as he shuddered.

Hunter shook his head. "I take back everything I ever said about you being smart." He shot at Cam.

Gesturing to the Academy, Cam frowned. "Take a look at what they've done. It's worse in Reefside and civilians are in danger. Even the Dino Rangers of that area can't stop them. We have to get to the Abyss. It's our only chance."

"You were there, right? You know what's in that thing!" Hunter retorted angrily.

"Yeah, our powers." Cam said with a raised eyebrow. "We have to get them back if we're going to have any chance of helping the Dino Rangers deal with Dustin and Shane."

"No." Blake said firmly, shaking his head. "No way. There's no possible way I'm going back in that thing!"

There's no need.

Blinking in surprise, I closed my eyes as they argued and listened to the Aeons.

We can restore their powers if you summon one of us.

Nodding, I opened my eyes and stared at the others. "That's enough." I said quietly. Blake quieted down and stared at me knowingly, but the others kept arguing. Rolling my eyes, I hit the button on my Garment Grid and sighed in annoyance as I changed into my Summoner, much to the shock of Hunter and Cam. _Were they always this stubborn and I just forgot?_ I thought to myself as I grabbed my staff. I took several steps back and nodded to Blake.

Turning to the others, Blake walked over and pulled Cam's morpher from around his neck before walking over to Hunter and taking his off his wrist.

"What?"

"Relax bro." he said as he sighed and nodded to me.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the Aeons' spirits and found the one I was looking for. _Hear my prayer, Bahamut!_ Bahamut's presence grew stronger, and I felt his energies spike as he flew through the clouds above us and dove head first to the ground. Opening my eyes, I watched calmly as the dragon Aeon landed in front of me and roared as he glowed with light blue energy.

"What the _hell_ is that?!" Hunter asked shakily as his eyes almost popped out of his head.

"It's an Aeon." Blake answered calmly. Turning to Bahamut, he nodded. "What do I do now?"

Just relax.

Doing as he was told, Blake closed his eyes and relaxed. In each hand, he held a morpher, and it was time to power them up again.

Roaring loudly, Bahamut attacked of his own will. Jumping into the air, he did a back flip and landed on all fours. A light appeared in his mouth as the wheel on his back began to spin, and a moment later, it shot out, hitting Blake dead on.

I gasped in fear, realizing Bahamut was using Mega Flare, and that Blake could be killed. But surprisingly, unlike with the fiends, he didn't rise up into the air, and the explosions didn't happen. Instead, the light was absorbed by his body, and channeled into the morphers, making them glow brightly. Once the attack faded, Bahamut stood and admired his job as the newly recharged morphers levitated out of Blake's hands and flew over to their respective owners.

It is done.

Thanking Bahamut, I dismissed him and watched as Cam and Hunter hesitantly accepted their morphers back, placing them back around their neck or on their wrist, and gasping in shock, obviously feeling the power that resided in them.

But that wasn't all. Suddenly, two more beams of white energy emerged from Blake and focused into his hands. Closing them tightly, he opened them a moment later, as the glow faded, showing a red and a yellow power disk in each hand.

Opening his eyes, he nodded and panted a few minutes, beads of sweat dripping off his face as he held up the disks for Cam to take.

"You think this'll really work?" he asked tiredly.

Nodding, Cam placed the disks in his robes and turned to look over the fallen remains of the Academy. "It should." Turning to look at me, he raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain what that all was, we just witnessed?"

"Yeah. That was kinda freaky, but also kinda cool." Hunter said with a grin.

Shrugging, I decided on a brief explanation of our powers and that we still had them here. Opting out of telling them of my last two years, and our recent journey to save Spira, again, I explained that I'd tell them after we saved the others.

And Blake even added in that we'd have a hell of a tale to tell, mentioning the names of many people we'd met in Spira.

But that was all to come _after_ we saved Dustin and Shane, and defeated Lothor again, this time, hopefully, for good!

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Ok, Note….

A) I don't remember much about what happens in Thunder Storm, but I do remember bits and pieces, as well as a couple of quotes.

B) I looked up some quotes online and found some more, to try and get it as close to the episode as I could.

C) Things will obviously be different because Blake and Tori came back from Spira. So Tori wasn't evil and Kira didn't see Blake in Hayley's Cyber Space. Well, not as a racer…

D) I don't know where Tommy is, or if he's in it. He'll be in my version, and I'm not angsty enough to have Tori or Blake ask him where Kimberly is, and then go into the whole Dear John Letter.

And E? Well, I dunno yet. If I find an E, I'll put in the next chapter's note.

Hope you like it.

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"Ethan?"

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi


	53. Thunder Storm Part 1

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Only one, two or three chapters left… I think.

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(Reefside)

Heading to the small town, where the most recent Power Rangers were fighting against the possessed forms of my friends, we stopped on the top of a nearby building to watch their work.

Three on two, and the Dino Rangers were still getting their asses handed to them.

Of course, Cam explained that the Dino Rangers were apparently High School students, and were still new to this, untrained, but I was still shocked at how easily Dustin and Shane were taking them out.

This time, Dustin and Shane had attacked a crowded place called Hayley's Cyber Space. We snuck down and watched as Shane attacked with a powerful gust of wind, and a brunette boy with brown eyes kicked over a table. He, a blonde girl with brown eyes, and…

"What the hell?" I whispered.

There, ducking behind the table with them, was Ethan!

Obviously, he wasn't the same as the Spiran Ethan, but their looks… There was no way to mistake him.

"Ethan?" Blake whispered in disbelief from beside me.

"Can I get you something? A muffin, or maybe a doughnut?" the brunette boy asked sarcastically as he stood up slowly, the last effects of Shane's attack fading.

Shrugging, Shane sneered. "I try to stay away from sugar. It makes me hyper."

Ethan turned to the others with wide eyes and shook his head. "Oh, I'd hate to see him hyper." he said lowly.

The girl sighed and stood beside her friends, glaring at Dustin and Shane. "That's nice and all, but can we like, take this someplace _less_ crowded?"

"Why should we trust you?" Dustin spat angrily.

Conner walked right up to him and glared. "It's called honor. I figured you ninjas would know all about it."

Glaring right back at him, Shane seemed to contemplate that for a moment before nodding slowly. "Fine!" he spat. "Meet us under the bridge in one hour. Come alone, or else!"

Turning, Dustin and Shane streaked out of the building and we came out of hiding as Ethan turned to his friends. "Ninja Streaking? Oh, how cool is that!" he cried excitedly.

Raising an eyebrow, I fought back the urge to giggle and gestured with my head to the doorway. I'd gotten a bit of a plan, and as much as I wanted to talk to Ethan, and possibly meet the new Rangers, now wasn't the time.

Exiting Hayley's I pulled the guys aside. "You know, if you, Cam and Hunter, pretend to be evil, you can probably get Dustin and Shane to believe whatever you say."

Blake looked at me with a puzzled expression. "What about us?"

"We're gonna have to hide for now, or…" Suddenly, I perked up. "Blake and I can join with the Dino Rangers to make sure they don't get pulverized while you guys follow and trick Dustin and Shane into using the new power disks!"

Cam nodded silently with a thoughtful expression. "That sounds like an idea." he admitted reluctantly. "But you won't be able to tell them we're here."

I frowned in confusion and Cam sighed. "If you do, what if one of them is an airhead like Dustin, and accidentally ruins it?"

"Oh." That made sense. Then, a thought struck me. "Ok, but are we sure those three are the Rangers?" It kind of seemed odd, but I guess it made sense. A boy in blue, a boy in red and a girl in yellow, all seemingly too calm about having Ninjas attack, and willing to fight them? Yeah, I'd say it made sense.

Hunter sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, unfortunately."

"We'd better get going." Cam said to Hunter as they started off.

With a final wave, we parted ways, and Blake and I went back into the Cyber Space.

All of the patrons had left by the time we returned, but the three teenagers we'd seen before still stood there, righting overturned tables and sweeping the floor. Also, there was a woman behind the counter, not looking shocked at all about what had just happened. She lad long red hair and bright blue eyes. Looking up from her work, her eyes widened ever so slightly, before she plastered a pleasant look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but we can't serve you right now. As you can see, we've just had a little incident." Wincing a little, I figured she was probably trying to think of a way to explain this, but I shrugged.

"It's ok. Actually, my boyfriend…" _Wow. It feels good to say that!_ "and I just came to talk to those people over there." I finished, pointing to the three teenagers who looked confused that we were obviously talking about them.

With a nod, she returned to her work as we made our way over to the three and I smiled. "Hi. I'm Tori Hanson, and this…" Pointing to Blake, I raised an eyebrow at him as he offered a small half smile. "is my boyfriend, Blake."

"Hey." He said quietly, checking each of the others out.

"Umm…" Ok, so _how_ exactly was I supposed to just come out and say 'Hi, we've come from another city to help you fight our friends and evil space aliens. Oh, and we're Power Rangers'.

"About what just happened, I have to say, you didn't look that shocked about facing two Ninjas." Blake said easily.

"Um, yeah."

The brunette boy seemed to eye me appreciatively before turning to his friends with a clueless look.

"Well, uhh… Here in Reefside, things like this happen a lot." the girl said uncertainly.

"Right. You just happen to get attacked by two possessed Ninjas every day." I said in disbelief.

Turning to me, Ethan gazed at me suspiciously. "I don't think we said they were Ninjas… How did you know again? And what's this about being possessed?"

Shrugging, I grinned. "Simple. They're possessed somehow. They're actually friends of ours."

The three instantly went on defensive stands and I snorted as their eyes regarded Blake and I suspiciously.

"Oh come on. I didn't say we were in on this. Actually…" Turning to Blake, I shrugged. "Wanna take it from here?"

"Gee, thanks." he said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. Turning to the others, he shook his head. "Basically, we're here to help you stop them."

"And how exactly does that work?" the girl offered with an incredulous look. "Do you even know who they are of what they're capable of?"

Now I began to out right laugh, and I nodded. "Hell yeah! But I can assure you, Blake and I are both capable of the same things and more."

The brunette guy looked wary, and the girl looked out right suspicious, but Ethan looked thoughtful. That's when the brunette boy spoke up, earning him glares from the others and a smack on the back of the head from the girl. "So, you're Rangers then?"

"Idiot!" the girl hissed angrily.

Finally controlling my laughter, I nodded again. "Yep. Rangers and a few other things as well."

"Like Highly trained Ninjas." Blake added with a smirk as their jaws dropped.

"Prove it!" The girl said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmmm…" Looking around, I noticed that, that woman was the only other person there, and frowned. "Can we go someplace private?" I asked, not taking my eyes off her.

Shaking his head, Ethan sighed. "Trust me, you're fine here."

So then, that woman knew? Pursing my lips, I thought back to Spira and weighed our options. With a sigh and shrug, I turned to Blake and nodded. We raised our arms and morphed in front of them.

"Ninja Storm!"

"Thunder Storm!"

"Ranger form! HA!"

In our morphed stated, we watched as the teens got excited about the prospect of having new Rangers to help, and then how they argued that we might be trying to trick them into taking us to their secret base.

After what felt like hours, they finally decided to trust us and took us to the place they were meant to meet up with Dustin and Shane. If it wasn't for the one hour time limit before the meeting, and the time it took to get them to believe us, we probably would've gone back to their base.

Blake and I hadn't said anything about Hunter or Cam because we didn't want our plan to fail, but decided to pretend we'd just come back and found out about this, coming to join the Dino Rangers to stop them.

Standing under a large bridge, we watched as Dustin and Shane each appeared by surprise, using their elements to catch the Dino Rangers off guard. We stood off to the side, and they seemed to ignore us, but I think it was probably because Lothor wasn't expecting us to be here, so they hadn't been ordered to kill us.

Shane faced off against the brunette by, who we'd learned was named Conner, and Dustin faced off against Ethan and the girl, Kira.

Yeah, it was a big shock to learn that Ethan's friends here, were the same friends as he had on Spira. But then, where was this Trent guy?

They fought against each other viscously, soon bringing out their powers. Then, when they found out they were pretty much evenly matched, they separated. Two of the Wind Rangers standing off to one side, and the three Dino Rangers on the other.

"Talk about a standoff." Blake muttered quietly, dressed in his Ninja garb.

I nodded, smoothing out my own Ninja garb as I watched the tension rise as they glared at each other. "Tell me about it. Got a knife anywhere on you?" Turning my head, I felt my face heat up as Blake regarded me in confusion and shook my head. "Never mind." I muttered, wondering if my face was going to explode.

That's when Dustin and Shane were about to morph, but Cam's voice stopped them.

"Wait!"

"More Rangers?" Kira asked incredulously as Cam and Hunter hopped over a fence and approached the group.

Conner nodded. "And just in time. We could use the help." he said, staring pointedly at Blake and I.

"Who said we're here to help you?" Hunter asked with a raised eyebrow as he walked over to the Wind Rangers. "We stick to our own kind."

Cam nodded. "Lothor has shown us the error of our ways." Turning to Shane, he gave a smirk and nodded. "Here, take these." he said, holding out the two Power disks.

Dustin frowned and stared at them warily. "Dude, we've already got our powers."

"Not these." Hunter said with a raised eyebrow and his infamous half smirk.

Shane slowly reached for one, Dustin following suit, and placed it on his morpher with a shrug. "You better be right."

"Trust me, you won't be disappointed." Cam said reassuringly.

Dustin and Shane placed the new disks on their morphers and took their stances. "Ninja Storm! Ranger Form! HA!" they cried, but instead of morphing, they were hit with electrical energies and flew back a foot, landing on their backs.

That was our cue, and Blake and I rushed over as Hunter and Cam helped them back to their feet.

"How do you feel?" Cam asked cautiously.

Shaking his head, Dustin rubbed the side of it gingerly and winced. "Dude, like, my bell has seriously been rung."

"What're we doing here?" Shane asked as he looked around. His eyes landed on me and widened. "Tori??"

Dustin's head shot up and he too looked at me in shock. Then his eyes traveled to Blake. "Dude, you're both back!" he cried happily, running up and giving me a huge hug.

As much as Dustin on Spira really was related to Tori, as her cousin, Dustin here had always been like a brother to me. Same with Shane, and the same thing was growing between Cam and I. Hunter was still a little wary, but I think that in time, he'd grow to be the brother I never had.

"We came back earlier today." Blake said as he clasped hands with Shane and Dustin in turn.

"This is nice and all, but… Does someone mind explaining what's going on?" Kira asked as she walked over with Conner and Ethan in tow.

Dustin raised an eyebrow and sighed. "That would take like, way too long."

"I think they mean with the you going from bad to good bit." I mentioned with a giggle.

"Bad to good?" Shane echoed in confusion.

With a heavy sigh, we all agreed to go to their headquarters and talk about what happened. I wasn't even aware of who I was about to meet there, besides Hayley, whom I already knew, knew about all this.

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Ok, not the best. I'm running on pure exhaustion and the feeling that I could've easily ended it a while ago, like when they returned to earth. Why did I decide to bring Lothor back again? Anyways, yeah, I think there might be one or two chapter left after this, and then a special thanks chapter.

Hope you like it.

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Ethan's head was so big, he could be the next Goodyear blimp.

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R+R please.

Thank you.

Tenshi.


	54. Thunder Storm Part 2

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything.

**Note** : Ok, I KNOW the ending sucks. Sorry. I kind of lost my way. I couldn't focus on it right. Again, I have to wonder why I brought Lothor back and didn't just end it that they came back to earth to live happily ever after? (Shakes head sadly) Well, if you want, you can just ignore these last few chapters and say it ended when they left Spira. I think that's what I'll do. (Erases memory of sucky last chapters of my fic)

The last chapter after this, is NOT a chapter. It's really only a special thanks chapter.

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(Under Dr. O's House)

When we finally made it down, I gasped loudly at who I saw sitting in a chair in front of a computer. His hair was shorter, he wore glasses, and to put it bluntly, he looked a lot smarter, but it was undoubtedly him.

Tommy.

Apparently, Tommy Oliver, one of the original Power Rangers.

Everyone, but Blake, turned to me when I gasped and I felt my face heat up. Sighing, I shook my head and gestured for us to continue down. "It's all a part of my explanation." I said simply.

But I got to wondering, if Ethan was here, Tommy, and my friends… How many of the other people we met on Spira, would be here as well?

Pushing that thought side for now, we all took our seat as and I began a _very_ long explanation of what happened over the last two years. It took most of the day, and well into the night, but eventually everyone got it, and to say they were shocked would be an understatement.

Ethan's head was so big, he could be the next Goodyear blimp, because he'd learned he was a genius on Spira too. Conner and Kira looked a little disappointed that we didn't know anything about them, and I made sure _not_ to mention the boyfriend bit to her, or the name Trent.

I also decided to forgo talking about Kimberly to Tommy, just saying we'd run into him a few times.

And Cam looked a little freaked that Spira's version of him was a ghost. Blake said he'd reacted the same way two years ago, but apparently, time hadn't allowed him to accept it.

Dustin was happy to know he was my cousin on that world, and admitted to seeing me like a sister.

Shane was happy to have gotten to be with Skyla _somewhere_, and had a little news of his own. Apparently, he and Kapri were engaged, and Kapri was pregnant. He was worried sick, since he hadn't seen her since before they were controlled, but we vowed to find her.

There were a lot of different reactions but I think Hunter's was the best of all. When we mentioned that he was dating Kelly and they had a son, his face cycled through twenty shades of red and he immediately looked to the ground in clear embarrassment. He also quietly admitted to dating her.

Eventually, we decided to settle the night, and take care of Lothor tomorrow. After all, we all knew it was foolish to try and fight through exhaustion.

I was just glad they didn't ask me to show them the Garment Grid.

(The Next day)

Walking through the town, we'd decided to wait and see if Lothor made a move. Everything seemed quiet, and Dustin and Shane helped Hayley fix up her Cyber Space after the damage they did the last time. Hunter and Cam were still at Dr. O's home, and Blake and I were walking with the Dino Rangers.

Suddenly, a large number of kelzacks and creatures known as Tyrannodrones appeared in front of us, and we all took up defensive stands. There were no real monsters, just those minions, and I didn't feel like wasting my time fighting them. So with a sigh, I motioned for the others to fall behind me and took a moment to decide on what dressphere to use.

With a shrug, I hit my Summoner and changed into my dress, grabbing my staff and summoning an Aeon to deal with them. Cycling through their mental energies, I felt for which one was closest to their ultimate power, and soon found one.

_Hear my prayer, Shiva!_

The ice goddess appeared behind me and threw off her cloak. Nodding to the enemies, I mentally told her to use Diamond Dust attack.

Raising her hand, ice formed at her finger tips and blew out to land over the kelzacks, tyrannodrones and the area they were in. Then, the ice grew over them and thickened so they couldn't move. Bringing her hand in front of her, Shiva snapped her fingers and the ice exploded into a giant cloud of sharp ice spikes, taking down all the foes and leaving us safe.

"Whoa! Dude, that was awesome!" Conner cried excitedly, running up to me.

Kira's jaw dropped and she nodded silently.

Ethan was also silent, but didn't seem as excitedly. Pointing ahead of us, I turned to find Lothor's newest goons. Some weird looking aliens, accompanied by Choobo and Zurgane.

"Great." I said in a mock cheery tone. Shaking my head, I ordered Shiva to shield, increasing her defense, until we knew what they were capable of.

Stopping suddenly, Lothor's usual goons exchanged worried looks.

"I thought the Blue and Navy Rangers were gone." Choobo said nervously.

Staring at me, Zurgane checked out Shiva took a step backwards. "What the hell is that thing?"

Smirking, I shrugged. "It's called an Aeon, boys, and I think this is where you run, screaming for your lives."

Blake walked forward to stand beside me, as the other Rangers arrived, and closed his eyes. Muttering something under his breath, he summoned Bahamut who stood by Shiva's side.

Choobo and Zurgane shook with nervousness when Lothor appeared. Sneering at us, I bit back a wince at seeing him again, and he looked to the Aeons. "Nice. I could use that power." he said, seemingly talking to himself.

Both Bahamut and Shiva glared at him angrily and remained silent, waiting for our orders.

"Whatever." he said with a shrug. Turning to his minions, he gestured for them to attack, and we did the same with our Aeons. I aimed for Choobo and Zurgane, while Blake took out the other aliens with one hit.

"Hey, save some for us!"

Turning my head, I noticed the morphed Dino and Ninja Rangers behind us and nodded. Lothor was left alone now, besides a few really weak aliens. The others rushed forward and engaged him in battle. They fought well, but were getting their asses handed to them. Honestly, I never imagined Lothor could've gotten this strong, and I frowned as I changed into my Gunner.

Big mistake.

Dustin and Shane turned around at the usual flash of light, and stopped moving entirely. I was sure that if they weren't wearing helmets, I would've seen them with their jaws brushing against the ground, and their eyeballs rolling around on it.

Then Conner turned and fell on his ass when he saw me.

Shaking my head, I grabbed my guns and began firing at Lothor.

Beside me, chuckling a little at the others' responses, Blake changed into his trainer and used Ladon to attack with his lightning breath.

Staggering back from his attack, Lothor fired dark energy balls at Blake and I, but we both dodged them.

Seeing a strange vase-like container on Lothor's hip, I wondered what it was. Getting an idea, I changed again, this time into Thief.

And this time, Dustin and Shane fell over, making my face heat up even more. Groaning in irritation, I raced forward with my daggers, swiping at Lothor to distract him, and grabbing the jar. Slipping it into my pouch on my waist, I jumped back and waited as some of the others, still paying attention to the battle, combined their attacks on him, finally finishing him off.

Lothor fell to the ground, and exploded into nothing. He was finally gone, but… What about Mesogog?

(Dr. O's House)

Dr. O… It's still weird to think that Tommy Oliver had a PHD. I didn't know him, but the Tommy I met on Spira seemed like the type to still be in elementary school. Looking to Blake, I noticed the raised eyebrow and guessed that he felt the same way.

Turning to us, Tommy nodded with a relieved smile. "Thanks, guy, for all your help."

Conner wouldn't stop staring at me with this weird smirk, like he was in love or something, Ethan seemed to try and avoid my eyes, and Kira turned to me and grinned.

I felt my face heating up even more, knowing they were remembering my outfits.

"No problem." I said in a fake cheery tone as I gave pleading glances to my friends.

Cam nodded and seemed to be struggling no to smirk. "We should get going. Repairs to the academy need to be done."

"Hey, wait a minute." Hunter frowned. "What about the other students and Marah and Kapri?"

"I think _we_ can answer that."

Turning around, we all watched as Marah and Kapri came waltzing down the stairs in their old evil alien uniforms. Seeing us, they grinned and whipped off their outfits, to show they had on their ninja stuff underneath.

Shane sighed in relief, and Kapri ran over to him, hugging him tightly, when she saw that he was no longer evil. Marah walked over to Dustin and leaned into his chest as she sighed. "Uncle had a jar with the students in it on him at all times." She said quietly with a look of worry.

Kapri nodded. "We didn't have a chance to get it off him when you destroyed him. We looked around where he had been destroyed, but there was no sigh of it."

"Oh man." Hunter groaned.

That's when I remembered something. Grabbing my pouch, I reached in and got a hold of the jar I'd stolen earlier. "It wouldn't happen to look like this, would it?" I asked with a grin as I pulled it out and showed it to the others.

"Yeah! That's like totally it!" Marah cried excitedly.

"Well, now that we know where the students are, and that Marah and Kapri are all right, we really should get going." Cam insisted.

Everyone got together to say their goodbyes, and we headed out. Also, before we'd left, Cam made sure to get a copy of Tommy's Ranger history to check it out. Ninja Streaking back to the Academy, Cam took the jar and opened it, releasing all of the kidnapped students again.

(Blue Bay Harbor Beach, at Night)

After a busy day of fixing up the academy, we all split up to relax for the rest of the day. Hunter went back to the Thunder Academy to see Kelly. Shane and Kapri went home to relax, and probably so they could berate each other for today. Dustin decided to go to the track for an hour or so, to which Marah decided to follow him along, and Cam stayed at the Academy with his father.

Blake and I were at the beach, relaxing on the sand.

"Isn't it funny how most our friends, and the people we've met, are totally different on Spira from how they are on earth?" Blake asked idly as he held me from behind.

Nodding, I watched the last dying rays of the sun as it set. "Yeah. Tommy, a paleontologist? That's kinda freaky."

"How about Marah chasing after Dustin?" he put in with a shake of his head.

I grinned. "After living with my 'cousin' Dustin and a cocky Marah? _Real_ weird."

"You know, as much as I already miss Spira, I'm kinda glad it's over." He mused out loud as he laid his head on my shoulder. "There were a few times I almost lost you."

Nodding slowly, I swallowed back the tears that formed in my eyes. "And I almost lost you. God, when you were knocked off Vegnagun…" Shaking my head, I buried myself even more in his embrace and held his arms tightly.

"But I'm all right. I'm here, I'm alive and I'm with you." Blake assured me as he gave me a gentle kiss on the side of the head.

Smiling, I was suddenly struck with a thought. "Blake… Promise me, you'll stay with me… Until the end." I whispered.

He shook his head. "Not until the end." Kissing my cheek, I felt him smile. "Always." Pulling me against him tightly, he sighed happily and looked up into the dark sky. "I love you Tor."

Feeling content and sleepy, I nodded and tilted my head up to kiss him lightly when he looked down. "Love you too Blake." I said. Closing my eyes, another thought hit me, and I bit my lip hard to keep from giggling. "Umm…Blake?"

"Yeah?" he answered quietly.

"Uhh… How are you gonna deal with Roger? You know, the way you took off without a word for so long and seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. I'm sure Factory Blue's not gonna be happy you just ran off like that."

He was silent for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh. "…..Shit!"

**THE END!!**

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Ok, sucky, yes? The only part I don't mind is the alone time between Tori and Blake.

Anyways, thank you all for your patience. It means a lot to me. Again, sorry about the ending. I really had hoped to make it better. My muse only JUST failed me on this fic. I am lucky it waited until the end.

Hope you liked this fic. I'm not going to say the end because, Meh, I know it's bad. LOL

R+R please. Even if you just want to tell me how bad the ending was. (sighs)

Thank everyone.

Tenshi


	55. Special Thanks

This chapter is really just a note of thanks to everyone.

First of all, I would like to say that I don't own anything. My first thanks goes to the makers of the Final Fantasy series for doing such an amazing job. Square Enix, and Tetsuya Nomura own the game and characters of Final Fantasy. Jade from Sweetbox sang both songs I used in this fic, and I would like to thank them for creating such beautiful melodies that touched so many people.

I believe Disney owns Power Rangers, and I would like to thank them for creating so many wonderful seasons for us all to enjoy.

Now for my personal thanks. To everyone who read and reviewed my fic, thank you so much. Knowing you liked it, and hearing your comments, encouraged me to finish this, and I'm so very glad you did like it. I basically followed the scripts for Final Fantasy X, Eternal Calm, and Final Fantasy X-2, but in my two main fics, I tried to add my own little things here and there.

**JuseaPeteron** - You encouraged me from the beginning, before I even began the fic Of Rangers and Guardians. Thank you so much, and I can only hope to return the favor some day. I'm very glad you liked the fic, and it was so much fun to talk to you about it as I wrote it. Thank you for reviewing every chapter and helping me to explain the story and continue on.

**Pinklen98** - When you began reviewing Of Rangers and Guardians, it made my heart soar to know that you liked my fic. I didn't think many would. You reviewed every chapter as well, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me.

**ThunderBrosRule27** - I know you love brotherly love, so I tried to include it whenever I could, into my fic. I love it as well. It's really touching, isn't it? Thank you for reviewing. Your comments meant a lot.

**Jessesgirl1549** - Thank you so much for reviewing. It means a lot.

I know I might've missed one or two people who already reviewed, and for that, I apologize. Thank you for your comments. I really appreciate them, and I am glad you liked this fic. Of Rangers and Guardians went well for me, but Saving Spira Again… Well, I was a little uncertain about writing it. I didn't think it would turn out, to be honest, but to my surprise, it turned out rather well. I credit that to all those who told me they liked my work and to continue. Whenever I got stuck, I thought of different ways to continue it, just for you guys.

This isn't one of my favorite fics, especially the ending (smacks head for writing it), but I couldn't think of anything else, but I feel very honored that you liked it. Thank you all so much. :) This is also the very first series I did, and I am very glad it turned out this way.

I hope to write more stories you will all like. I will probably take a little break before my next fic. It'll likely be a Shane/Kapri fic that's going to be a crossover of some kind. I'm thinking Buffy, but I might do it with the movie Silent Hill. We'll have to see how it goes.

I also have TONS of ideas for Power Rangers fics, most of which will liekyl be for Ninja Storm, but I may also try my hand at Fruits Basket. Again, we'll see.

Please, take care, and have a good day. Thank you again.

Tenshi


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